Description
Book SynopsisThe work of a master critic writing at the peak of his powers, this magisterial book draws on speech act theory, as it originated with J. L. Austin and was further developed by Paul de Man and Jacques Derrida, to investigate the many dimensions of doing things with words in James's fiction.
Trade Review"Miller's consideration of what we do when we read begins to make the true strangeness of that activity evident. What does it mean to say we really have just these words on the page, that nothing can answer for the text except the text? I love the way the author takes nothing for granted. What happens whena reader reads the words before her? In what sense do these words have reference? What speech acts make thesewords a work of fiction?" -- -Julie Rivkin Connecticut College "Miller's reading is consistently interesting, surprising, thoughtful, delightful and excellent." -Studies in American Fiction "Densely argued and challenging..." -Choice
