Afraid of big novels? Visit Number 9 and hear a reading of Swallowing a World: Globalization and the Maximalist Novel by Dr. Benjamin Bergholtz. He will discuss his new book about how reading big books is scary and satisfying, as well as signing books. Bergholtz's book is about a genre of contemporary fiction known as the "maximalist" novel. At his talk, Bergholtz will explain why reading such novels is challenging but also rewarding, because their massive scope and self-conscious style helps readers engage with some of the most significant political problems contronting us today, such as information overload, climate change, and the legacies of colonialism and neocolonialism. The talk will thus appeal to people interested in big novels but also, Bergholtz hopes, anyone interested in literature more broadly.
