Perspectives

Literary perspectives

The short story “The North London Book of the Dead” by Will Self is a postmodern work of fiction. Postmodern works often use first-person narrators who present events from their subjective perspective. Then, postmodern literature tends to challenge traditional views of reality. In Self’s story, the traditional views of life and death are challenged when the narrator meets his dead mother on the streets of North London. Also, postmodernism makes use of humor and irony. “The North London Book of the Dead” prevents the events in a humorous fashion.

Magic realism is a literary genre often used in postmodern literature. In “The North London Book of the Dead”, magic realism is used when supernatural elements are inserted into the story. Here, t...