The Opacity of Narrative
1st Edition
Published on 25. March 2014
230 pages
978-1-78348-018-0 (ISBN)
Description
What is narrative? What is distinctive about the great literary narratives? In virtue of what is a narrative fictional or non-fictional? In this important new book Peter Lamarque, one of the leading philosophers of literature at work today, explores these and related questions to bring new clarity and insight to debates about narrative in philosophy, critical theory, and narratology.
He highlights 'opacity' as a feature of literary narratives and examines the implications for our understanding of fictional worlds and fictional characters. Throughout he challenges received views about narrative, questioning the indispensability of narrative in an individual's self-conception and the importance of both truth and emotion as measures of literary greatness. He reflects on the 'non-fiction' novel arguing that it does not weaken the distinction between fiction and no-fiction.
The book offers a compelling and original account of these and other issues, making a critical contribution to topical and wide-ranging debates.
He highlights 'opacity' as a feature of literary narratives and examines the implications for our understanding of fictional worlds and fictional characters. Throughout he challenges received views about narrative, questioning the indispensability of narrative in an individual's self-conception and the importance of both truth and emotion as measures of literary greatness. He reflects on the 'non-fiction' novel arguing that it does not weaken the distinction between fiction and no-fiction.
The book offers a compelling and original account of these and other issues, making a critical contribution to topical and wide-ranging debates.
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
978-1-78348-018-0 (9781783480180)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Peter Lamarque
The Opacity of Narrative
Book
04/2014
Rowman & Littlefield International
€166.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Person
Peter Lamarque is professor of philosophy at the University of York, UK. His many publications include Work and Object: Explorations in the Metaphysics of Art (OUP, 2010), The Philosophy of Literature (Wiley-Blackwell, 2008), Fictional Points of View (Cornell University Press, 1996), and Truth, Fiction and Literature: A Philosophical Perspective (with Stein Haugom Olsen, Clarendon Press, 1994). He was Editor of the British Journal of Aesthetics from 1995 to 2008.
Content
Preface / 1. Opacity, Fiction and Narratives of the Self / 2. Narrative and Invention / 3. On Not Expecting Too Much From Narrative / 4. Literary Narratives and Real-Life Narratives / 5. Fiction and the Non-Fiction Novel / 6. Wittgenstein, Literature, and the Idea of a Practice / 7. Literature and Truth / 8. Thought, Opacity and the Values of Literature / 9. Aesthetics and Literature / 10. On Keeping Psychology Out of Literary Criticism / Bibliography / Index
