Preface; 1. Narrative and life: The universality of narrative; Narrative and time; Narrative perception; 2. Defining narrative: The bare minimum; Story and narrative discourse; The mediation (construction) of story; Constituent and supplementary events; Narrativity; 3. The borders of narrative: Framing narratives; Paratexts; The outer limits of narrative; Is it narrative or is it life itself?; 4. The rhetoric of narrative: Causation; Normalization; Masterplots; Narrative rhetoric at work; 5. Closure: Conflict: the agon; Closure and endings; Closure, suspense, and surprise; Closure at the level of expectations; Closure at the level of questions; Absence of closure; 6. Narration: a few words on interpretation: The narrator; Voice; Focalization; Distance; Reliability; Free indirect style; Narration on stage and screen; 7. Interpretation: The implied author; Underreading; Overreading; Gaps; Cruxes; Repetition: themes and motifs; 8. Three ways to interpret narrative: The question of wholeness in narrative; Intentional readings; Symptomatic readings; Adaptive readings; 9. Adaptation across media: Adaptation as creative destruction; Duration and pace; Character; Figurative language; Gaps; Focalization; Constraints of the marketplace; 10. Character and self in narrative: Character vs. action; Flat and round characters; Can characters be real?; Types; Autobiography; Life writing as performative; 11. Narrative contestation: A contest of narratives; A narrative lattice-work; Shadow stories; Motivation and personality; Masterplots and types; Revising cultural masterplots; Battling narratives are everywhere; 12. Narrative negotiation; Critical reading as narrative negotiation; Closure one more time; The end of closure?; Glossary; Index.
Guides readers through the fundamental aspects of narrative.
'Abbott brilliantly zeroes in on the architecture of narrative with
an exactness and bent for orderly exposition that utterly redeems
his subject. The result is a superb taxonomy of what narrative
means today.' Chronicle of Higher Education
'Directness, accessibility, and coherence distinguish this brief
but comprehensive study of narrative. It is very much the
'introduction' its title asserts because Abbott is consistent in
his efforts to identify, explain and define. His approach is
down-to-earth, even conversational, and yet he integrates terms or
references intrinsic to the study of narrative. The plethora of
examples and illustrations - both 'classic' and contemporary, drawn
from critical and theoretical texts, novels, short stories … films
and television - is a major strength making narrative concepts
clear … Most highly recommended.' Choice
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