26. China Miéville, Embassytown (2011)

Abstract

The contribution discusses China Mieville’s Science Fiction novel Embassytown (2011). In the first section (Context: Author, OEuvre, Movement), after a brief overview of Mieville’s writing, it sketches the literary history of Weird Fiction and attempts to place both writer and novel in this context. Section two (Basic Coordinates: Central Topics and Concerns) focusses on Embassytown’s obsession with language and on its blend of space opera and (post)colonial notions. The third section (Aesthetics: Narrative and Literary Strategies) sheds light on the novel’s narrative strategies, most importantly its intricate design of sequential pieces and its refusal to describe the indescribable - both of which are, as will be demonstrated, again conducive to the text’s linguistic concerns. The final section (Reception and Theoretical Perspectives) provides a survey of contemporary research on Mieville’s oeuvre by emphasising his exchanges with the academic world as well as the impact of fan culture attempts to discuss and visualise his work.