Book Review: Moser, K., & Zelaya, K. (Eds.). (2020). The Metaphor of the Monster: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Understanding the Monstrous Other in Literature. Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Abstract

This engrossing interdisciplinary collection, edited by French studies Professor Keith Moser and Central American literary scholar Karina Zelaya of Mississippi State University, explores numerous iterations- historical, literary, ecological, sexual- of the monstrous ‘other’. As such, the collection would be of interest and relevance to scholars from a host of disciplines: from international relations and security studies to environmental ethics and postcolonial studies. The work is divided into four parts, each featuring essays that correspond to a particular sub-discipline within monster studies: Part I (Ecological perspectives), Part II (Transgressive, Monstrous gender and Corporality), Part III (Teaching monstrosity in the (Post-)Modern World), and Part IV (Monstrosity in World Literature). This structure is particularly useful in helping the reader discern the unique contributions offered by each field to the analysis of monster metaphors.