Sibling bonds, both literal and figurative, have had a crucial role in American writings of queer desire and identity. In nuanced and original readings, Denis Flannery demonstrates the centrality of fraternal and sororal love to queer strands of nineteenth- and twentieth-century texts from the elemental wildnesses of Moby-Dick to David Fincher's postmodern cinema; from the brutal and comic decorum of Henry James's major fiction to the elegiac memoir-writing of Jamaica Kincaid. Questions driving Flannery's exploration of sibling relations: How do we characterize the relationship between sibling love, queer possibility and the formal intensities of American writing? Why do so many American texts rely on the presence of sibling love to articulate queer desire? Why is brotherhood invoked as a positive value in announcements of United States national aspirations but used repeatedly and ominously in that nation's texts to herald a fall? Written with lyrical clarity and verve, On Sibling Love, Queer Attachment and American Writing is an important contribution to queer theory; to American studies; and to the study of culture, writing and affect.

About the Author
Dr Denis Flannery is Senior Lecturer in American and English Literature in the School of English, University of Leeds, UK

Reviews
'To bring siblings to gay attachments and queer theory to sibling relationships is inspirational. Each informs and shapes the other in Flannery's brilliant and innovative re-reading of American writing and culture'. Juliet Mitchell, University of Cambridge, UK



Book Information
ISBN 9781138264915
Author Denis Flannery
Format Paperback
Page Count 180
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g