Download or read book The Contemporary American Short-Story Cycle written by James Nagel and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2004-04-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: James Nagel offers the first systematic history and definition of the short-story cycle as exemplified in contemporary American fiction, bringing attention to the format's wide appeal among various ethnic groups. He examines in detail eight recent manifestations of the genre, all praised by critics while uniformly misidentified as novels. Nagel proposes that the short-story cycle, with its concentric as opposed to linear plot development possibilities, lends itself particularly well to exploring themes of ethnic assimilation, which mirror some of the major issues facing American society today.