The creative component of my project is a conteporary, confessional novel, Refrain. The narrator, Jake, has spent his youth chasing a life that matched his dreams - first as a would-be rock star and then by fleeing to India in search of exotic adventures with his girlfriend. Now he returns alone to the suburban backwater he'd tried so hard to escape, ready for stability and responsibility. However, his attempts to reinvent himself in this world of chronic unemployment and limited horizons are thrown into confusion by old friends, estranged fmaily members, an unresolved attachment, and by his musical successor - a volatile young woman with her own problems, who draws him back to things he'd rather forget and towards a future he isn't ready to face. Refain is a story of idealism and desire, fading hopes and unexpected opportunities, long-distance love and short-sightedness. The exegetical component of my project investigates the term 'portmodern confession' as an i ntersection of the confessional narrative mode and postmodernism, and its application to two recent texts: The sportswriter by Richard Ford, and The remains of teh day by Kazuo Ishiguro.