Sartre the Origins of a Style

by Fredric Jameson

First published in 1961, The Origins of a Style is a striking attempt "not merely to analyze Sartre's work formally, from an aesthetic perspective but above all to replace Sartre in literary history itself." As a study of Sartre's writings this work articulates the antagonism between the modernist tradition and Sartrean narrative or stylistic procedures. From the broader methodological perspective, Jameson turns around "the relationship between narrative and narrative closure, the possibility of storytelling, and the kinds of experience-- social and existential--structurally available in a given social formation."

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Fredric Jameson was an American literary critic, philosopher and Marxist political theorist. He was best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends, particularly his analysis of postmodernity and capitalism. Jameson's best-known books include Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991) and The Political Unconscious (1981).