Zuckerman versus Kliman: Boundaries between Life and Literature in the Zuckerman Novels

This paper aims to analyze what boundaries Nathan Zuckerman draws between life and literature, with particular emphasis on the American Trilogy and Exit Ghost, and contrasts Zuckerman's methods with those of the character of Richard Kliman in the latter novel. The essence of Zuckerman's modus operandi seems to be that literature can tell us something about life — but only if life is first turned into literature. Kliman operates in the opposite way: By digging up "dirty" secrets about E.I. Lonoff, he hopes that he can somehow bring to light in Lonoff's work hitherto unknown truths about Lonoff's life. The "cultural journalism" that Kliman and his generation represent is partly what prompts Zuckerman's exit as a literary character. His way of working is no longer relevant in the world of the tell-all scandal.