The post-9/11 novel revisited: Reading three perspectives in contemporary American fiction

Abstract

This essay on the Ground Zero novel offers three perspectives on one of the most exciting current debates in humanities by approaching the effects of the most notable 21st century event on the American novel. It presents a scholarly analysis of the American novel of the past 20 years and provides a discussion for readers who are divided by geography, ideology, and religion to understand how the 9/11 novel reflects both geopolitical relations and conflicts of our collective present. It sets two necessary provisos for the analysis of post-9/11 American narrative: terrorism and counter-terrorism. This analysis approaches the post-9/11 novel from two opposing perspectives/voices—neutral narratives and political narratives—to provide a neutral cultural territory divorced from geopolitical strategy to understand this new version of American literature and explore the common beliefs and values in it. A third focus, on the literature of immigrants, is emerging in American literary studies and offers a bridge to those interested in exploring the cultural contributions of Muslim immigrants to American culture. It would be a mistake to conclude without referring to the contributions of Arab American writers because the concepts of culture and coexistence are interlinked.