What is the Postmodern Novel? (Analysis of the Narrative Mode in the Novel Azadeh Kanom and Her Writer)

Since a few years ago when the first postmodern novels were published in Iran, knowing and defining the characteristics of this type of novel has been one of the central issues in literary studies. Due to the different applications that the term postmodernism has found in various fields of the humanities, there is no consensus as to what exactly a postmodern novel is. Emphasising the plural nature of the theoretical debates on postmodernism presented from diverse perspectives, this article attempts to give an account of just one of the influential theories of the postmodern novel postulated in two celebrated essays by John Barth. Part One of the article sets postmodernism in its intellectual, cultural and social backgrounds. Part Two is an exposition of and commentary on the evolution of Barth’s views on the postmodern novel. In Part Three the narrative mode of the Iranian author Reza Barahani’s novel Azadeh Kanom and Her Writer is analysed on the basis of Barth’s approach in order to examine why it can be considered as postmodern. The final Section offers a conclusion based on the points discussed in the article.