Ann Beattie
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Major Issues Major IssuesLike a number of other writers in this collection, Ann Beattie examines the social culture and rituals of her characters: in her case, upper-middle-class baby boomers. Critics describe Beattie as a minimalist. She writes with economy and clarity, and usually employs a distanced, non-judgemental narrator. The atmosphere in Beattie’s fictional worlds, scholars observe, is one of passive dissatisfaction and despair. Her characters yearn for personal and spiritual fulfillment, but are seized by inertia. The yearning and hope for something better is never completely extinguished, however. Reviewers point to Beattie’s positive portrayal of children, for example, as representative of renewal and of tentative hope for the future. Beattie’s major subjects include friendship, families, materialism, loneliness, and pain. Author LinksA Glazed Bowl of One's OwnReview and essay on "Janus" and Beattie’s other short fiction. About Ann Beattie Essay on Beattie’s life and literary career. Featured Author: Ann Beattie Reviews of Beattie’s books, and articles about Beattie from The New York Times Archives, plus audio links. Ann Beattie Opens Up 1998 interview which followed publication of collection of stories from past 25 years. Beattie Quotations Excerpted quotations on research, images, and writing, from lectures by Beattie in 1991.
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