Reflections on Literary Narrative

Name: Reflections on Literary Narrative
ISBN: 9787100213028

申丹The Commercial Press · ChinaJun 2024

4.0

Word count: 290K words
Chapters: 52
ISBN: 9787100213028

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Summary

The research in this book is interdisciplinary in character but focuses on formal structure, so the title has been provisionally set as Toward the Structure of Form. The book consists of the following parts: I. "Academic Development," which includes four essays: 1. the preface to Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries (a diachronic account of the author's interdisciplinary academic research from undergraduate study to the present), 2. the afterword to A Study of Dual Narrative Progression in Short Stories (a diachronic account of how, from doctoral study to the present, the author advanced step by step from revising authoritative Western theories to leading research at the Western academic frontier), 3. "Innovating at the International Frontier—Speech at the 20th Anniversary of Peking University's School of Foreign Languages" (which begins with the author's experience studying at Peking University and introduces her development, focusing on striving at the international frontier), and 4. "On Four Paths to Innovation in Foreign Language Research" (Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, which introduces the author's experience of research innovation up to 2000). II. Introductions, including the following: 1. introduction to Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries, 2. introduction to New Developments in Western Stylistics, 3. introduction to Ambiguous Discourse: Feminist Narratology and British Women Writers, 4. introduction to On Fictional Style. III. Book reviews: the main subjects are influential new academic works from abroad at the time. IV. Interviews. V. Prefaces: the author served for many years as president of national associations for narratology and stylistics, and the prefaces also fall within these two fields; they were written for collections of papers from international conferences held in China. VI. Commentaries: commentaries on the study of formal structure.

Editor's review

Reflections on Narrative and Style is the intellectual crystallization of Professor Shen Dan of Peking University's decades of deep engagement in narratology, published by the Commercial Press. This is not a conventional textbook of narrative theory but a collection of academic essays marked by strong problem awareness and speculative depth. With an international scholarly vision, Professor Shen meticulously sorts through and sharply reexamines many core concepts and binary oppositions in classical and contemporary narrative theory (such as story and discourse, implied author and real author). The issues discussed in the book, such as the multiple interpretations of "unreliable narration" and the "covert progression" in narrative progression, all represent the forefront of narratology research. Reading this book, readers can not only systematically understand the development and key debates of Western narratology but also deeply sense how a leading scholar uses rigorous logic and open thinking to challenge established views and construct new insights. Her prose is clear and meticulous, lighting the lamp of thought for readers in the labyrinth of complex theory. For any reader who wishes to go beyond surface understanding and delve into the texture of narrative art, this is an intellectually demanding and highly rewarding journey.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University humanities faculty and students and researchers with a strong interest in narratology and literary theory
Professionals working in literary criticism, comparative literature, or related fields
Advanced enthusiasts who wish to understand in depth the inner mechanisms of narrative works such as novels and films
Writing enthusiasts seeking to employ more refined narrative techniques in their own creative work

Not a good fit for

Ordinary readers seeking only light entertainment or the stories of novels themselves
Readers lacking basic patience for and interest in theoretical speculation and academic discussion

Reading tips

It is advisable to read this after acquiring some basic knowledge of literary theory or narratology; otherwise it may feel difficult
It can be read alongside Professor Shen Dan's other monographs or translations (such as Narratology and the Study of Fiction Style) to form a more systematic understanding
Readers need not try to absorb everything in one reading; they may repeatedly study specific chapters of interest and consider how they connect with concrete textual analysis

About the publisher

The Commercial Press China · Founded in 1897

The Commercial Press is a publisher known for classic works and academic publishing, with titles spanning Eastern philosophy, foreign literature, world history, social culture, and applied psychology. Its list includes classical commentaries such as Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Analects and Wang Bi's Commentary on the Zhouyi, as well as modern annotated translations like Zhuangzi with Modern Notes and Translation. In foreign literature it offers War and Peace and Crime and Punishment, while in world history it carries Braudel's The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II. Applied psychology is represented by Irvin D. Yalom's Existential Psychotherapy, and ethical texts include a Greek-Chinese-English edition of the Nicomachean Ethics. Its authors and translators include Zhu Xi, Wang Bi, Yalom, Braudel, and translators such as Huang Zheng, Zhang Yiling, Shen Dongyu, and Tang Jialong, balancing the editing of original texts with academic translation.

版权信息
出版前言
自序
第一辑问学历程
跨学科研究历程
叙事研究发展历程
不同阶段著作之关系
研究早期的创新经验
第二辑论辩
叙事学的新探索：关于双重叙事进程理论的国际对话
《解读叙事》的本质究竟是什么？
也谈“叙事”还是“叙述”
《一小时的故事》与文学阐释的几个方面
对自由间接引语功能的重新评价
也谈中国小说叙述中转述语的独特性
“故事与话语”解构之“解构”
何为“隐含作者”？
试论当代西方文论的排他性和互补性
第三辑访谈
如何正确理解“隐性进程”和“双重叙事进程”？
理论的表象与实质
第四辑序言
《叙事学的中国之路：全国首届叙事学学术研讨会论文集》序
《叙事学研究：第二届全国叙事学研讨会暨中国中外文艺理论学会叙事学分会成立大会论文集》序
《叙事学研究：理论、阐释、跨媒介》序
“新叙事理论译丛”总序
《文体学：中国与世界同步》序
《文体学研究：回顾、现状与展望》序
《文体学研究：探索与应用》序
《文体学研究：实证、认知、跨学科》序
《连贯与翻译》序
《历史的叙述与叙述的历史——拜厄特〈占有〉之历史性的多维研究》序
《历史话语的挑战者——库切四部开放性和对话性的小说研究》序
《英国经典文学作品的儿童文学改编研究》序
《跨媒介的审美现代性：石黑一雄三部小说与电影的关联》序
第五辑书评
关于西方叙事理论新进展的思考
《小说修辞学》第一版与第二版评介
关于西方文体学新发展的思考
文体学研究的新进展
《语言与文体》评介
从三本著作看西方翻译研究的新发展
第六辑导读
《含混的话语：女性主义叙事学与英国女作家》导读
《西方文体学的新发展》导读
《文学中的语言：文体学导论》导读
《小说文体论：英语小说的语言学入门》导读
《跨文化性与文学翻译的历史研究》导读
《跨越学科边界》导读
附录
人格的魅力
爱心铺成希望之路

FAQ

How does this book differ from common introductory narratology textbooks (such as Story and Discourse)?

The book focuses more on in-depth analysis and frontier exploration of key theoretical issues in narratology and is full of academic debate and personal insight rather than systematic popularization of knowledge. It is better suited to deepening and critical thinking after one has grasped the basic concepts.

What exactly does the "covert progression" theory mentioned in the book refer to?

This is an important theoretical concept proposed by Professor Shen Dan. It refers to a deep narrative dynamic beneath the surface plot progression of a narrative text, constituted by understated symbols, images, details, and so on, which may contrast with or supplement the surface theme. This theory opens new space for textual interpretation.

Will non-academic readers benefit from reading this book?

For deep readers and writers with strong comprehension and a willingness to accept intellectual challenges, this book can greatly enhance their appreciation and analytical ability regarding narrative complexity, but it requires considerable concentration and thought.

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About the author

申丹 Author

Shen Dan is an important scholar in the fields of narratology and stylistics in China. Public information about her is limited, and her nationality, dates of birth and death, and academic background are not clearly recorded. Judging from the nine works included in the collection, her research spans narrative theory, the stylistics of fiction, Anglo-American narrative theory, and the study of literary schools. Her output includes systematic theoretical works such as Narratology and the Stylistics of Fiction and Western Narratology: Classical and Postclassical, as well as studies that advance theory through close reading, such as Narrative, Style and Subtext: Rereading Classic Anglo-American Short Stories and A Study of Dual Narrative Progression. She also contributed to the volume on foreign literary schools in Sixty Years of Foreign Literature Studies in New China, and has addressed issues in literary stylistics and fiction translation. Her works serve literary appreciation, foreign literature, and language and literature studies, and are suited to specialist readers and course use, exerting a lasting influence in the field.