Pozorski examines the figure of the falling man in 9/11 literature and the arts, and its representation within the theoretical framework of trauma … Pozorski is at her best when she shows how, as she writes in the introduction, ‘critics in the contemporary art and literary worlds demand representations of 9/11 fraught with jarring images.’ The author successfully highlights the contradictory behaviors of critics and the general public. On the one hand, they demand that artists address the big questions and problems of the times. On the other hand, they have a tendency to dismiss such works, often judging them inappropriate, inadequate, untimely, disrespectful, opportunist, too clean, or too violent. The epilogue—a detailed analysis of Parrish’s mural painting The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy (depicted on the book's cover)—is absolutely brilliant in providing new ways of thinking about and interpreting the representations of 9/11 in art and literature. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty.” —A.-P. Durand, University of Arizona, CHOICE
“Falling After 9/11 does an excellent job of corralling various literary representations of the falling man, and of thinking through what these representations might imply about the broader state of US art. … [Pozorski’s] decision to focus on the figure of the falling man is an ingenious one, and it is her sustained examination of this recurring trope that gives the book its momentum. … Pozorski’s readings are nuanced and incisive, and she makes a persuasive argument on the moral and artistic complexities associated with post-9/11 art. Her account of the recurring presence of the falling man in a diverse range of texts will strongly inform future studies … In emphatically answering the provocative questions posed by a range of post-9/11 artworks—including Mouly and Spiegelman’s iconic New Yorker cover art—Pozorksi reveals the many ways in which trauma can be meaningfully represented, and in doing so expands our understanding of the tragedy of 9/11 itself.” -U.S. Studies Online