Grunge Fiction

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Jean-François Vernay (Independent Scholar - Australia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 9.1.1: Australian Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Susan Kossew (Monash University)

Dates

Date of occurrence 1977

Places

Australia (Location)

Genres and Modes

Prose Fiction Narrative

Resources

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Grunge fiction mainly deals with dissatisfied (sub)urbanites who endeavour to fill the vacuity and spleen of their existence with music, drugs, sexual delight, and intoxication. For Kirsty Leishman, grunge fiction features disfranchised young characters who try to alleviate an “ever-present boredom […] through a nihilistic pursuit of sex, violence, drugs and alcohol” (Leishman, 94). In grunge fiction, Ian Syson argues, “depressed and frightened young Australian men” express “their alienation through excessive alcohol consumption, acts of brutality, sexual conquests and active contempt for authority” (Syson, 23). If sex is regularly portrayed as an attractive cop-out for these Australian characters, no generalisation can be made about the social and gender status of grunge…

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1524 words

Citation: Vernay, Jean-François. "Grunge Fiction". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 06 November 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5550, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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