The Practice of Reading

Download or read book The Practice of Reading written by Derek Alsop and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 1999-04-19 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Practice of Reading is a lucid and lively examination of the art of interpreting the novel in the context of recent developments in literary theory and criticism. Believing that reading is - or should be - a pleasurable, creative activity, the authors analyse a range of seven novels from the eighteenth century to the present, focusing upon the experiential dimensions of the reading process. What is the role of the reader? What happens when a novel is read? How far does meaning depend on the reader, and how far on the text? These and other related questions are explored in readings of novels as diverse as Tristram Shandy, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Daniel Deronda, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Beckett's Trilogy and Possession. In its insistence upon a return to the practice of close reading, the book represents a timely intervention in current literary debates. An accessible, informative and above all stimulating text for all university and college students of literature.