READING FOR THE PLOT - Hardcover

Brooks, Peter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0394505972 ISBN 13: 9780394505978

Publisher: Knopf, 1984

Synopsis

A book which should appeal to both literary theorists and to readers of the novel, this study invites the reader to consider how the plot reflects the patterns of human destiny and seeks to impose a new meaning on life.

About this title

Review

A brilliant study...The author goes beyond what he considers the too static approach of the structuralist literary critics to probe the dynamics of narrative and show how they answer our psychic needs..."Reading for the Plot" is a stimulating ground-breaking book that invites us to consider anew how plotting both reflects the patterns of human destiny and seeks to impose meaning on life.

Peter Brooks has delivered a major contribution to narrative theory and critical practice in a book remarkable for its lucidity and theoretical adventurousness.--Terry Eagleton "Literature and History "

A major book by a major critic. It will appeal both to literary theorists and to readers of the novel, and it is likely to be seen as an important point of reference for many years to come.--Terence Cave "Times Literary Supplement "

What is...gratifying about Brooks's approach is his insistence that plot elements must survive even the most radical postmodern consciousness...As he so eloquently confirms, so long as there is self-conscious life on earth, there will be narrative plotting in some form or another. To expect us to give it up would be like asking us to give up breathing.--Christopher Lehmann-Haupt "New York Times "

About the Author

Peter Brooks is Tripp Professor of Humanities at Yale University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Knopf
• Publication date: 1984
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0394505972
• ISBN 13: 9780394505978
• Binding: Hardcover