Literary Fiction The Ways We Read Narrative Literature [Hardcover]

Insofar as literary theory has addressed the issue of literature as a means of communication and the function of literary fiction, opinions have been sharply divided, indicating that the elementary foundations of literary theory and criticism still need clarifying. Many of the classical problems that literary theory has been grappling with from Aristotle to our time are still waiting for a satisfactory solution.

Based on a new cognitive model of literature as communication, Farner systematically explains how literary fiction works, providing new solutions to a wide range of literary issues, like intention, function, evaluation, delimitation of the literary work as such, fictionality, suspense, and the roles of author and narrator, along with such narratological problems as voice, point of view and duration.

Covering a wide range of literary issues central to literary theory, offering new theories while also summarising the field as it stands,Literary Fictionwill be a valuable guide and resource for students and scholars of the theory of literature.

1. Introduction
2. What is literary fiction?
3. The fictional communication process
4. The cognitive and aesthetic dimensions of literature
5. The limits of the literary work
6. Intention and message
7. Problems related to the sender
8. The structure of the action
9. Selection
10. Voice
11. Viewpoint, focalization
12. Frequency
13. Order
14. Suspense
15. The functions of literary fiction
16. Evaluation
17. Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

Geir Farneris Professor of Dutch Language and Literature in the Department of Literature, Area Studies and European Languages (ILOS) at the University of Oslo, Norway.