Kali Tal, Worlds of Hurt: Reading the Literatures of Trauma

Worlds of Hurt:
Reading the
Literatures of Trauma

Reviewed by Maggie Jaffe and selected as Editor's Choice in War, Literature and the Arts, special issued devoted to W.D. Ehrhart (Fall/Winter 1996).

"A Lifetime of Anger and Pain: Kalí Tal and the Literature of Trauma," David J. DeRose, Postmodern Culture (January 1997).

Worlds of Hurt describes the relationships between individual trauma and cultural interpretation, using as its focus the Holocaust, the Vietnam War, and the phenomenon of sexualized violence against women and children. Survivors of these traumas constitute themselves as unique communities and bear witness to their experiences both privately and publicly. Survivor-authors write a "literature of trauma"--born of the need to tell and retell the story of the traumatic experience, to make it real to the victim, the community and to the larger public.

"This audacious and brilliant book is designed to make us feel, among other things, very uncomfortable. No area of human experience is too painful or sacrosanct to be explored by Kalí Tal, and she refuses to allow us to rest with easy answers to complex problems. Tal's exploration of each of the three arenas of trauma she has chosen would constitute a strikingly original and valuable contribution to our understanding, so having all three is a treasure. But Worlds of Hurt is even more than the sum of its parts, which Tal interrelates to construct a many-dimensional kaleidoscope of meaning."
-- H. Bruce Franklin, author of MIA: Mythmaking in America

"Tal's brilliant idea is that survivors of trauma create a literature of hurt that contributes to the dominant culture's self-understanding.... Throughout she demonstrates methodological strength in informative and enlightening close textual analyses." -- Q. Grigg, Hamline University, in Choice (November '96).

"Kalí Tal makes us aware that personal narratives about about traumatic experiences -- whether they come from Holocaust survivors or troubled Vietnam veterans or victims of incest and other forms of sexual assault -- threaten the larger society because they reveal power relationships and social contradictions. Worlds of Hurt makes important contributions to our understanding of cultural politics."
-- James William Gibson, author of The Perfect War (1986) and Warrior Dreams (1994)

"Tal's argument about the existence of a separate literature of trauma that crosses generic boundaries is convincing, provocative, and timely. Her readings of narratives of war, genocide, and incest will be of value to anyone interested in the relationships between violence, experience, and culture."
-- Susan Jeffords, author of The Remasculinization of America.

Cambridge Studies in American
Literature and Culture 95

1995 / c.320pp.
44504-3 / Hb / List: $59.95
56512-X / Pb / List: $18.95

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Cambridge Studies in American
Literature and Culture 95