Lyotard, Literature and the Trauma of the differend

This original study examines Jean-François Lyotard's philosophical concept of the differend and details its unexplored implications for literature. it provides a new framework with which to understand the discourse itself, from its Homeric beginnings to postmodern works by authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Jonathan Safran Foer.

"Working with and yet also moving beyond Lyotard's philosophy, this provocative, wide-ranging and innovative work of literary theory makes challenging and timely arguments about literature in relation to politics, ethics, suffering and finally - silence." - Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK 'Sawyer's work is a necessary and lyrical account (and calling-to-account) of literature in the face of Lyotard's differend. It is both deeply personal and critically alert, offering a nuanced and sustained negotiation with Lyotard and his philosophy in relation to literature, its subjects, and what remains, after all, unsaid.' Will Slocombe, University of Liverpool, UK

Dylan Sawyer received his English Literature Doctorate from Aberystwyth University and his MA in Philosophy and Literature from the University of Warwick, UK. His research interests are Post-War Continental Philosophy and late 20th Century Fiction.