Ball: Chemistry and Power in Recent American Fiction

[jbor at bigpond.com]

Nice little essay, might be relevant. Discusses in detail DeLillo's 
_White Noise_, Powers' _Gain_ and _GR_ (weaker on GR than the pother 
two), but starts off with a nice overview of the history of chemistry 
in fiction.

The pdf is on the Internet, but I have a copy.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PHILOSOPHY OF CHEMISTRY
ISSN 1433-5158

http://www.hyle.org/journal/preview.htm 

HYLE Vol 12 will include a special issue on "The Public Image of 
Chemistry", ed. by Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Brigitte Van Tiggelen, 
and Joachim Schummer. Forthcoming contributions include

'Chemistry and Power in Recent American Fiction'
by Philip Ball

Abstract
Writers of fiction have always held up a mirror to the world around 
them. The perspective they typically present is not that gathered from 
polls of public opinion, nor that culled from the way issues are 
presented in the media. Yet in retrospect, the personal attitudes and 
views expressed in good literary fiction prove to offer a revealing 
snapshot of trends in thought and topics of debate in the writer’s 
milieu. With this in mind, I shall explore some of the themes on 
chemistry and society developed in the fictional works of three modern 
American writers. I believe that these examples offer food for thought, 
and possibly a little encouragement, to those who despair at the 
tarnished image that chemistry commonly seems to have in broader public 
discourse today. For while all of the texts I consider examine some of 
the fears often expressed about the chemical industry, they show a 
willingness to engage with issues of risk (real and perceived), social 
benefits, changing patterns of consumer behaviour, and responsibility 
that is not always present in more conventional modes of ecocriticism.

best