Description
Book SynopsisThis book attempts to reveal how the fantastic operates and how it produces its effects, and analyses the devices and techniques used by the fantastic in order to produce hesitation in the mind of the reader. It proceeds through an analysis of one French and one Russian work.
Trade ReviewThis recent volume from the Legenda imprint maintains the high standards of production and academic excellence in the field of comparative literature that readers have come to expect from the marque. -- Slavonic and East European Review Slavonic and East European Review Most of all benefits through its comparative analyses of chosen texts; this not only makes obvious the "pan-European" context in which the fantastic flourished during the nineteenth century but will, it is to be hoped, inspire others to tinker further with some of the concepts applied here to the fantastic, especially in relation to other examples of Gothic fiction. -- Modern Language Review Modern Language Review This is a very readable work, which constitutes a valuable complement to Todorov's 1970 "Introduction a la litterature fantastique. -- Forum for Modern Language Studies Forum for Modern Language Studies Essential reading for scholars of the fantastic; I also recommend it to instructors, who can use Whitehead's readings of these classic texts to astound their students by revealing the way that language works to produce the thrills of the genre. -- The Russian Review The Russian Review
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Reliability and Shifting Perspectives: Hesitation in Heterodiegesis 2. Personality and Multiple Voice: Hesitation in Homodiegesis 3. Madness and Narrative Disintegration: Hesitation and Coherence 4. Narrative Play and Generic Disruption: Hesitation and Self-Consciousness 5. Conclusion
