<i>The Unravelers</i> is a Buddhist novel of literary fiction, which to my knowledge is the first in the last one hundred years to synthesize the Buddhist teachings and values found in the suttas of the <i>Pāli</i> Canon, the theory of ancient Indian <i>kāvya</i> literature, and the latest stylistic and structural innovations of contemporary literary fiction. The narrative follows four characters from the moment of their deaths as they manipulate the process of becoming—the mental act of creating and entering into “worlds”. The novel depicts the characters’ development of dispassion for a variety of realms, resulting in their eventual return to the human world with the motivation necessary to practice the Buddhist path. My critical essay opens with an introduction to <i>kāvya </i>and Theravāda Buddhist concepts that are particularly relevant to the process of creating a fictional world— namely, <i>saṅkhāra </i>(fabrication) and <i>bhava </i>(becoming)—and the inherent karma of writing. Section II “Literary Review” explores narrative modes from Theravāda Buddhist literature and develops them through experimental narrative modes of contemporary literary fiction. Section III discusses the depiction of becoming, fabrication, and dispassion through the novel’s characters. Section IV “<i>Rasa</i>,” explains the theory of how a reader experiences the work’s savor, while relating the use of <i>rasa </i>in<i> The Unravelers</i> to the early Buddhist <i>kāvyas </i>(the <i>Pāli </i>Canon’s <i>Udāna </i>and <i>Dhammapada</i>, and two works by Aśvaghoṣa). Section V evaluates the classic use of Buddhist concepts and metaphors in Aśvaghoṣa’s <i>Handsome Nanda</i> as compared to<i> The Unravelers</i>. Section VI examines Jack Kerouac’s <i>The Dharma Bums</i> as a forerunner to the genre of the Buddhist novel and Keith Kachtick’s <i>Hungry Ghost</i> as archetypal. Section VII concludes by detailing<i> The Unravelers</i>’ contribution to the Buddhist novel.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:720054 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Barber, Michael |
| Contributors | Jaeger, Peter ; Kahn, Ariel |
| Publisher | University of Roehampton |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://pure.roehampton.ac.uk/portal/en/studentthesis/the-unravelers(6ff07eb3-3289-4c6d-b128-026e31277233).html |
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