Postirony

What is 'postirony'? Foremost, it is a response to the ironic zeitgeist. Moreover, it is the key to understanding a specific form of literature. The contemporary reader is familiar with and -- unfortunately -- used to postmodernism's ironic, self-reflexive metafiction. Authors like David Foster Wallace and Dave Eggers chose a different path: Despite the reign of contemporary irony, they strive to reach the reader on a level beyond, cognitively as well as emotionally -- they claim to be sincere and true. Focusing largely on non-fiction by said authors, Lukas Hoffmann explores the means the texts use to achieve something new -- namely, a new form of sincerity.