Novel Arguments: Reading Innovative American FictionNovel Arguments deals with American innovative (postmodern, metafictional, experimental) fiction since the sixties. It advances a concept of the argument of fiction to correct criticism's too purely formal interest in innovation. The book closely examines the readings of five important innovative novels by Donald Barthelme, Ishmael Reed, Robert Coover, Walter Abish, and Kathy Acker and shows how they achieve an effective articulation of their concerns