Jan 5, 2010
Donald Barthelme is best known for his short fiction. Unlike traditional stories that concentrate on creating characters in a fictive world with which the reader can readily identify, Barthelme creates language objects that are self-conscious of themselves as language. Barthelme’s stories are full of parody, irony, and an infectious playfulness. The critic Wayne Stengel groups Barthelme’s stories into four major categories: identity stories, such as “Me and Miss Mandible,” communication stories, such as “On the Steps of the Conservatory,” society stories,...
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