"With the supposed shortening of our collective attention spans, what future is there for long narrative fiction in the age of the internet? Contemporary Fictions of Attention maps out a shared interest in attention within 21st-century fiction and connects this interest to a series of debates surrounding ethics, work, the everyday, boredom and entertainment, as well as a broader context for the future of the book, fiction and reading itself in an increasingly digital culture. Alice Bennett examines work by writers including Joshua Cohen, Ben Lerner, Tom McCarthy, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith, and David Foster Wallace, and argues that they are all writing 'fictions of attention' ") --
With the supposed shortening of our attention spans, what future is there for fiction in the age of the internet? Contemporary Fictions of Attention rejects this discourse of distraction-crisis which suggests that the future of reading is in peril, and instead finds that contemporary writers construct 'fictions of attention' that find some value in states or moments of inattention. Through discussion of work by a diverse selection of writers, including Joshua Cohen, Ben Lerner, Tom McCarthy, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith, and David Foster Wallace, this book identifies how fiction prompts readers to become peripherally aware of their own attention. Contemporary Fictions of Attention locates a common interest in attention within 21st-century fiction and connects this interest to a series of debates surrounding ethics, temporality, the everyday, boredom, work, and self-discipline in contemporary culture.
