Female re‐writings of the Jewish diaspora: Metamemory novels and contemporary British‐Jewish women writers

In keeping with the interdisciplinary dialogue featuring fields of Diaspora and Memory Studies, some current fictions seem to have absorbed, reproduced deconstructed those contemporary discourses that reflect on complex relation between individual collective construction memory in diaspora. It is this context British-Jewish women authors deserve special attention since they struggled numerous tensions together multifarious identity factors being Jews, immigrants (or their descendants) women, adding multifaceted perspectives affiliation belonging complexity defines Jewish culture. This article starts from neurobiological notion ʻmetamemoryʼ idea its study leads understand better both diasporic phenomena. Some fictional creations by writers exemplify what could be defined as ʻthe metamemory novelʼ. particular, I focus works pertinent second- third-generation female authors—Lisa Appignanesi's The Man (2004), Linda Grant's Clothes Backs (2008), Zina Rohan's Small Book (2010). Following Birgit Neumann's ‘fictions metamemory’ (2008a, b), detail key narrative features configure these novels, such polyphony, metafictionality blurring time dimensions. Moreover, generational bonds are (de)constructed stories, thanks Hirsch's ‘postmemory’ which acquire healing properties for protagonists. Finally, conclude formal experimentation identified writings may confirm today's resorting literature a platform make identities more dynamic.