Analyzing the work of Ishmael Reed, Kathy Acker and Don Delillo, this book argues against the critics who cite these authors as quintessentially postmodern. It contends that whilst these authors do possess a number of so-called 'postmodern' qualities, their critical forms and/or contents remain ethically and politically grounded. Given that most postmodern theory rejects such grounding; its presence in these prototypical postmodern novels suggests flaws with the 'postmodern' category itself.