WHY WE READ FICTION

<i>Why We Read Fiction</i> offers a lucid overview of the most exciting area of research in contemporary cognitive psychology known as Theory of Mind and discusses its implications for literary studies. It covers a broad range of fictional narratives from Richardson's<i> Clarissa</i> Dostoyevski's <i>Crime and Punishment</i> and Austen's <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> to Woolf's <i>Mrs. Dalloway</i> Nabokov's <i>Lolita</i> and Hammett's<i> The Maltese Falcon</i>. Zunshine's surprising new interpretations of well-known literary texts and popular cultural representations constantly prod her readers to rethink their own interest in fictional narrative. Written for a general audience this study provides a jargon-free introduction to the rapidly growing interdisciplinary field known as cognitive approaches to literature and culture.