Expositional Modes and Temporal Ordering in Fiction

by Meir Sternberg

" . . . this is one of the few books on narrative worth reading and rereading, a study that will make―or should make―a difference in the way we read narrative." ―Nineteenth Century Fiction

"This is a remarkable original, clear-sighted, and luminously focused on a subject that has never been explored nearly so systematically or intensively." ―Dorrit Cohn, Harvard University

This book, long out of print, is now available in a paperback edition, providing another window into one of the most exciting minds working in the areas of literary and biblical literary criticism.

Genres: Literature, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[Arthur Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

By offering a unique interpretation of literary phenomena, Sternberg composes a book that provides the reader with some theoretical tools you will find nowhere else. His readings of James, Austen, Homer, Faulkner, and many others are great examples of how we should deal with textual material, and his conceptualizations of control strategies and unreliability, to mention a few, put in check some certainties the critics have taken for granted for decades.

Differently from my previous experiences with his texts, this one is not hard to follow, even if it is dense sometimes. For people who want to get acquainted with functionalist narratology, this is a great starting point.

[Francis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genial!

[Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb.