The Death of Lily

This is a novel narrated by eleven characters as well as an omniscient narrator. My primary concern as a writer is to experiment with the reliability of the narrative in an attempt to discover the “real” version of the story. The thesis employs several narrative techniques. First, it blends the genres of the academic novel and the murder mystery or detective novel. Second, the narrative is told in third person-present tense, third person limited-past tense, and first person. Divided into three parts, the novel rotates between first person monologues and third person chapters, except for part two, which is told entirely in third person limited-past tense. In using a non-linear structure, the novel not only gives the sense of suspense, but also plays with the subjective mind of the reader. The synopsis of the novel:William Thierry is a young and prodigious visiting lecturer in the undistinguished and underfunded Philosophy Department of Athens University. He is on the pathway to notoriety with his theory on the “Death of Philosophy” when a past lover begins stalking him. In the midst of tracking down his pursuer, Thierry will have to deal with an alcoholic Philosophy Chair who can’t prevent the fate of the department, carry on an affair with a professor’s young and sexually enticing wife, avoid an angry colleague bent on Thierry’s failure, and woo a French Philosopher who despises the young philosopher’s work. At the heart of this novel is a dead woman that will change the lives of this group of academics.

Name thesis:degree_name

MFA

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of Arts and Sciences / Department of English

Grantor dc:publisher

Kent State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Meduri, Matthew Paul

Contributors dc:contributor

• O'Connor, Varley

• Literature

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1366242013

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:kent1366242013