Comforting Myths: Concerning the Political in Art

In this trenchant treatise, Lebanese American novelist Alameddine (The Wrong End of the Telescope) pushes back against the argument that “art should be separate from politics.” He contends that all art is political and that writing only appears apolitical if it “reinforces the dominant society’s values.” For instance, Alameddine argues that John Updike’s decision to write about “stultifying suburbia” at the height of the Vietnam War should be considered as political as Tim O’Brien’s war fiction. An author’s racial identity often determines whether their work is considered “political,” Alameddine posits, lamenting that Alice Munro’s short stories are often viewed as universal while James Baldwin’s fiction is deemed “more political, or more dated, or more fill in the blank.” In the book’s most searching passages, Alameddine reflects with ambivalence on how his Lebanese American background positions him as a “cute other” whose novels about Arab characters are at once “domesticated” enough to not ruffle feathers and yet “exotic” enough to make white people feel open-minded for reading them. Alameddine’s lucid analysis cuts to the heart of contemporary discussions about the intersections of politics, identity, and fiction. This is essential reading. Agent: Nicole Aragi, Aragi, Inc. (Oct.)