Amit Chaudhuri's “The Immortals" as a Postmodernist Manifesto

Abstract

"Irony is duty” states Friedrich Schlegel in his 481st fragments of his 'Fragments Concerning Literature’. In this analysis irony is not simply a rhetorical figure rather it is an implication of the mind reflecting upon itself and conditions human consciousness, it is an evocation of modern mankind’s emerging historical awakening within the growth of human race. Postmodernism depends on narrative techniques like paradox, fragmentation, parody and irony. The postmodern narrative is said to have boomed after World War II. Amit Chaudhuri is one of the new wave of Indian authors with deep roots in post emergency contemporary India, who came to prominence during 1990 by his first novel Strange and Sublime Address. He has written seven novels and The Immortals is his fifth novel published in 2009. The Immortals portrays the delicate sophistication of Chaudhuri’s art and his thirst for music. The narrative voice itself is enrolled to create an ironical atmosphere pervading the whole work. This paper intends to propound on postmodern irony and also attempts to bring out the narrative style of the writer.