The Practice of Reading: Interpreting the Novel

ISBN-13: 9780333683514 / Angielski / Miękka / 1999 / 240 str.

Derek Alsop;Chris Walsh

Opis

The Practice of Reading is a lucid and lively examination of the art of interpreting the novel in the context of recent developments in literary theory and criticism. Believing that reading is - or should be - a pleasurable, creative activity, the authors analyse a range of seven novels from the eighteenth century to the present, focusing upon the experiential dimensions of the reading process. What is the role of the reader? What happens when a novel is read? How far does meaning depend on the reader, and how far on the text? These and other related questions are explored in readings of novels as diverse as Tristram Shandy, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Daniel Deronda, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Beckett's Trilogy and Possession.
In its insistence upon a return to the practice of close reading, the book represents a timely intervention in current literary debates. An accessible, informative and above all stimulating text for all university and college students of literature.

Spis treści

Preface.- Acknowledgements.- List of Editions Used.- Reading and Interpretation.- The Role of the Reader: Tristram Shandy.- The Process of Reading: Pride and Prejudice.- The Experience of Reading: Great Expectations.- Deconstruction and Reading: Daniel Deronda.- Reading as Revelation: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.- Reading the Self: Beckett's Trilogy Molloy; Malone Dies; The Unnamable.- Postmodernist Readings: Possession.- Conclusion.- Notes.- Select Bibliography.- Index.

O autorze

DEREK ALSOP is Senior Lecturer in English Literature at St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill.

CHRIS WALSH is Head of English at University College Chester.