The Practice of Reading

Derek Alsop and Chris Walsh provide a lucid thoughtful and lively commentary upon 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 Alsop and Walsh examine in detail seven novels ranging 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 relation to the novels Tristram Shandy Pride and Prejudice Great Expectations Daniel Deronda A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man Beckett''s Trilogy and Possession.