Once Upon a Time in The South: Ondaatje and Genre

Abstract

Critics have often noted that Michael Ondaatje likes to mix literary modes and genres, but there has not been much speculation about his reasons for doing so. Clues can be derived from his predilection for community over individuality, both in his subject material and in his method of book production. Genre fiction provides readers with the memory of their early joy in reading as well as a sense that they are part of a society involving stories. A postmodern parody of genres, especially as they are commingled, will further promote the reader’s awareness of participation in a literary community, and permit the primary author to feel that he is helping to tell lives rather than Jamesian art. In its first sentence, Corning Through Slaughter invites the reader to join writer and characters in some travel around the setting, and provides us all with the opportunity to close the distance between self and the trope of others.Les critiques ont souvent noté que Michael Ondaatje aimait mélanger genres et modes littéraires mais sans s’interroger vraiment sur les raisons de cette pratique. Le roman rappelle au lecteur ses premières joies trouvées dans la lecture. La parodie post-moderne des genres (surtout lorsque ces derniers sont mélangés) renforce la conscience que le lecteur a de participer à une communauté littéraire. Dès la première phrase, Corning Through Slaughter invite le lecteur à rejoindre l’auteur et les personnages et fournit la possibilité d’abolir la distance entre soi et les autres