Elizabeth Weston

• University of Memphis

Nostalgia may seem fruitless, yet Ishiguro's novel When We Were Orphans reveals its potential force as a touchstone in a world marred by violence. And though melancholia may seem static or destructive, this text uncovers its active and productive potential. In fact, in a life wrenched by loss, these modes can drive a way of living that involves dee...

This essay explores how an awareness of trauma theory can transform the experience of reading into an opportunity to bear witness to the cultural contexts and individual traumas that can underlie a narrative, especially a narrative of development that involves deterioration instead of growth and self-actualization. By approaching Edna O'Brien's The...