French Literature Reviews - 2026
B. Cardin, Colum McCann
Novel and Narrative Prose
Colum McCann
Intertextes et interactions
Publication date: 19/05/2016. Publisher: PU Rennes. Series: Interférences. ISBN: 978-2-7535-4943-2. EAN: 9782753549432.
This first book in French dedicated to the Irish-American writer identifies, decodes, and analyzes Colum McCann's intertextual practice. His novels and short stories are examined as rewritings of biblical texts, retellings of legends, mirrors of the Irish socio-political context, and vehicles for major ideological discourses. Each of the author's fictional works is the subject of a dedicated chapter, using a specific approach based on a particular concept from intertextual theory, such as influence, authority, or intention.
Bertrand Cardin is a professor in the Department of English and Applied Foreign Languages at the University of Caen Normandy, specializing in contemporary Irish prose literature.
Table of Contents:
The parodic method in selected short stories
A version of an Irish myth: "Cathal's Lake"
The intertext as a reflection of a fractured Ireland: Fishing the Sloe-Black River and Everything in This Country Must
Paternal influences in Songdogs
Prophets of Israel in the Manhattan tunnels: a mythocritical reading of This Side of Brightness
Dancer and reader: framed books and readings *en abyme*
Zoli: a mimetic and dialogic novel in memory of the oppressed
Recreated voices in Let the Great World Spin: The paratext: authorities in crisis
Recreated voices in Let the Great World Spin: The text: "fall perhaps"
Interconnections and intentions. The example of Transatlantic
Mirrors and collages in Thirteen Ways of Looking
Colum McCann is a contemporary Irish-American writer. Bertrand Cardin's study situates McCann's novels and short stories within the framework of intertextual theory. This critical approach, which focuses on concepts like authority, influence, and intention, explores how literary works are built upon previous texts. The study examines how McCann's work functions as rewritings of biblical texts, retellings of legends, mirrors of the Irish socio-political context, and vehicles for ideological discourses.
Each of the author's fictional works is analyzed in a dedicated chapter, including Songdogs, Dancer, and Let the Great World Spin. These chapters address themes such as paternal influence, the memory of the oppressed, and the representation of a fractured Ireland. The book examines various narrative techniques, including parodic short stories and dialogic structures. Readers interested in contemporary Irish prose and the applications of literary theory may find it relevant.