Reading the graphic surface
eBook - PDF

Reading the graphic surface

The presence of the book in prose fiction

  1. 225 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Reading the graphic surface

The presence of the book in prose fiction

About this book

This book critically engages with the visual appearance of prose fiction where it is manipulated by authors, from alterations in typography to the deconstruction of the physical form of the book. It reappraises the range of effects it is possible to create through the use of graphic devices and explores why literary criticism has dismissed such features as either unreadable experimental gimmicks or, more recently, as examples of the worst kind of postmodern decadence.

Through the examination of problematical texts which utilise the graphic surface in innovative and unusual ways, including Samuel Beckett's Watt, B. S. Johnson's Albert Angelo, Christine Brooke-Rose's Thru and Alasdair Gray's Lanark, this book demonstrates that an awareness of the graphic surface can make significant contributions to interpretation.

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Information

Publisher
Manchester University Press
Year
2018
Print ISBN
9780719069697
9780719069680
eBook ISBN
9781526130778
Topic
Literature
Subtopic
Literary Criticism
Index
Literature

Table of contents

  1. READING THE GRAPHIC SURFACE: THE PRESENCE OF THE BOOK IN PROSE FICTION
  2. Dedication
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. CONTENTS
  6. LIST OF FIGURES
  7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  8. INTRODUCTION
  9. CHAPTER 1: Reading the graphic surface
  10. CHAPTER 2: The presence of the book
  11. CHAPTER 3: The graphic surface in theory
  12. CHAPTER 4: Mimesis and the graphic surface: a critical blindspot
  13. CHAPTER 5: ‘If the gentle compositor would be so friendly’: Samuel Beckett’s Murphy and Watt
  14. CHAPTER 6: ‘The technological fact of the book’: B. S. Johnson
  15. CHAPTER 7: ‘Some languages are more visible than others’: Christine Brooke-Rose’s Thru
  16. CHAPTER 8: Alasdair Gray: Maker of books
  17. CONCLUSION
  18. FURTHER READING
  19. INDEX
  20. Bray, Joe, Handley, Miriam and Henry, Anne C. (eds) (2000) Ma(r)king the Text: The Presentation of Meaningon the Literary Page, Aldershot: AshgateCraig, Cairns (1999) The Modern Scottish Novel: Narrative and the National Imagination, Edinburgh:Edinburgh University PressMcGann, Jerome (1983) A Critique of Modern Textual Criticism, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
  21. Johnson

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Yes, you can access Reading the graphic surface by Glyn White in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Literary Criticism. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.