Cold War Kids in Neoliberal Dystopia: Transgression, Disruption and Fragmentation in the Work of Chuck Palahniuk and Victor Pelevin

Abstract

Marija Pavlović's dissertation, Cold War Kids in Neoliberal Dystopia: Transgression, Disruption, and Fragmentation in the Work of Chuck Palahniuk and Victor Pelevin, examines the evolution of transgression, disruption, and fragmentation in literature from postmodernism to contemporary forms. Introducing hypertrashrealism, she articulates this new literary movement as both a response to and a development beyond postmodern tendencies. The study significantly draws on Ihab Hassan's theory of postmodernism, providing a comparative framework that underscores key shifts in narrative and thematic approaches in the works of Palahniuk and Pelevin. This analysis emphasizes the critical transformation in literary styles and themes, reflecting contemporary societal and cultural dynamics, aiming to define a contemporary narrative alternative to the exhausted term "postmodernism" and the cumbersome "post-postmodernism."