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A type of fiction that self-consciously addresses the devices of fiction, exposing the fictional illusion. Illustration: 'If on a winter's night a traveler' by Italo Calvino, where the novel is about the attempts to read itself.

The condition in which reality is mixed with or overtaken by simulations of reality; where the definition of reality is unclear. Illustration: 'White Noise' by Don DeLillo describes a world in which simulations of reality, like television and consumer goods, become more influential than the reality they simulate.

The shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can refer to an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. Illustration: 'The Waste Land' by T.S. Eliot frequently references and incorporates texts from diverse sources, including the Bible and classical literature.

A literary style or genre that combines magical or fantastical elements with realism. Illustration: 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez includes fantastical elements such as levitation, prophetic dreams, and immortality in a realistic setting.

The feeling or perception that there is some grand, overarching conspiracy at work, often a common theme in postmodern literature. Illustration: 'Gravity's Rainbow' by Thomas Pynchon is characterized by the protagonist's paranoia about secret agencies and world-controlling plots.

A work of visual art, literature, or music that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche celebrates, rather than mocks, the work it imitates. Illustration: 'The Crying of Lot 49' by Thomas Pynchon blends styles of detective fiction, popular culture, and historical accounts.

A common technique in postmodern fiction: time is often fragmented and discontinuous, and the story might jump forwards or backwards in seemingly unpredictable ways. Illustration: 'Slaughterhouse-Five' by Kurt Vonnegut uses this technique extensively as the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim, experiences moments from his life out of order.

A reaction against minimalism: an aesthetic of excess and redundancy. It is often characterized by an opulence of style and a fabulous over-abundance of detail. Illustration: 'Infinite Jest' by David Foster Wallace is a maximalist novel with extensive endnotes, lengthy passages, and a wide range of characters.

A construction or creation from a diverse range of available things; making use of multiple techniques and elements. Illustration: 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman, where the author uses various forms of visual storytelling to narrate the Holocaust experience.

A representation or imitation of a person or thing. In postmodernism, it refers to a copy without an original, or a representation that becomes more real than the thing it represents. Illustration: 'Simulacra and Simulation' by Jean Baudrillard discusses how symbols and signs have taken precedence over reality and meaning.

Copies that depict things that either had no original to begin with, or that no longer have an original. Simulacra represent a portrayal of reality that becomes truth in its own right: hyperreal. Illustration: 'Blade Runner', while a film, is often discussed in postmodern literature for its depiction of a future where human replicas, or simulacra, question the nature of reality and existence.

The imitation of another's style in literature or art, often used as a method of criticism or homage. Postmodern pastiche is more neutral and lacks satirical impulse. Illustration: 'The Name of the Rose' by Umberto Eco is a pastiche of medieval manuscripts and detective fiction.

An overarching account or interpretation of events and circumstances that provides a pattern or structure for people’s beliefs and gives meaning to their experiences. Postmodernists are generally skeptical of meta-narratives. Illustration: 'The French Lieutenant's Woman' by John Fowles examines and disrupts the Victorian meta-narrative of social and moral values.

Typically describes the simplicity, charm, and serenity attributed to country life, or any literary convention that places kindly, rural people in nature-centered activities. Postmodern literature often subverts this nostalgia. Illustration: 'Arcadia' by Tom Stoppard mixes past and present to subvert the idyllic notions of pastoral life.

A literary device used to signify the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect. It's pervasive in postmodernism, breaking expectations and often commenting on the medium itself. Illustration: 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller is filled with situations and dialogue that are ironical, presenting absurdity through war experiences.

The practice of borrowing elements (often images or writing) from previous works without permission and reusing them in new contexts. Illustration: 'The Hours' by Michael Cunningham appropriates the life and work of Virginia Woolf to tell a new story.

The view that all knowledge is not derived from sense experiences but rather constructed by our minds through an interaction with the world. Illustration: The works of Jorge Luis Borges often explore the concept of knowledge as a construction, such as the Library of Babel, which suggests the universe as a construct of infinite information.

A feeling of distrust or the suspicion that one is being constantly threatened in some way. Paranoia reflects the postmodern theme of questioning the nature of reality and one's place within it. Illustration: 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison captures this sense of paranoia as the protagonist navigates a society filled with racial tensions.

The preoccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods. Postmodern works often critique consumer culture by highlighting its emptiness or by showcasing its effects on individuals. Illustration: 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk critically portrays the obsession with brands and possessions in modern culture.

The process by which the cultural aspects of any given society undergo decomposition or decline due to the loss of its territory or the intrusion of alien factors. Illustration: 'The Satanic Verses' by Salman Rushdie involves literal and metaphorical deterritorialization as characters navigate cultural and spiritual displacement.

The quality or condition of existing in a meaningless and irrational world. Postmodern literature frequently explores and embodies absurdity, challenging traditional narratives and expectations. Illustration: 'Waiting for Godot' by Samuel Beckett epitomizes the absurd with its plotless structure and circular dialogue, depicting a stark, purposeless existence.

Postmodern culture defined by the pervasive influence of technology and media. It includes the integration of digital and media arts into artistic expression. Illustration: 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson depicts a world in which virtual reality and cybernetics have become central to human experience.

A philosophy and critical method that involves taking apart or dissecting texts in order to reveal the instability of meaning. Illustration: Derrida's theory of deconstruction has influenced many postmodern texts, which are often characterized by their resistance to singular interpretations.

A metaphor often used by postmodern theorists to describe the multiplicity of identities and sense of disconnection in postmodern life. Illustration: 'Fight Club' by Chuck Palahniuk explores the fragmented self and the identity crisis through its schizophrenic narrator.

A literary work composed of elements borrowed from varied sources, or the imitation of other styles for comedic effect or as a flattering homage. Illustration: 'The Life of Pi' by Yann Martel is often seen as a pastiche, combining elements of adventure fiction, with spiritual autobiography.

The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning. In postmodernism, irony often serves to suggest the instability of language and the unreliability of interpretation. Illustration: 'American Psycho' by Bret Easton Ellis uses irony to criticize the superficiality of consumer culture.

Postmodern works often feature a fragmented storyline or structure, breaking away from the linear plot and consistent narrative. Illustration: 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' by Milan Kundera presents characters and themes in a fragmented manner, with no clear chronological order.

An approach to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It questions the ability of language to represent reality adequately and seeks to expose the assumptions and prejudices underlying traditional Western thought. Illustration: 'The Postmodern Condition' by Jean-François Lyotard discusses how grand narratives are deconstructed to show their contingent nature.

A work of art or literature that is conscious of its own nature as an artifact, and comments on its creation and existence. Postmodern works often use this to explore the relationship between fiction and reality. Illustration: 'Lost in the Funhouse' by John Barth uses the story itself as a subject, examining the nature of storytelling and its influence on the reader and writer.