"METAFICTION AS A CROSS-CULTURAL NARRATIVE STRATEGY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF WESTERN AND UZBEK LITERARY TRADITIONS"

This article explores metafiction as a cross-cultural narrative strategy by analyzing its function and development in both Western and Uzbek literary traditions. Focusing on the works of John Barth and Khurshid Davron, the study investigates how metafiction operates as a self-reflexive technique that challenges conventional storytelling and redefines the relationship between fiction and reality. The research applies a comparative literary approach to examine similarities and differences in narrative strategies, thematic concerns, and cultural contexts. The findings demonstrate that while Western metafiction, as represented by Barth, emphasizes formal experimentation, intertextuality, and epistemological uncertainty, Uzbek metafiction, as seen in Davron’s works, is more closely connected with cultural identity, historical memory, and philosophical reflection. The study argues that metafiction is a universal literary phenomenon that adapts to different cultural frameworks while maintaining its core function of self-awareness and narrative reflexivity.