Herman Charles Bosman and the Depth of Humorous Storytelling: Light Fiction and Existential Grace

This book offers a philosophical exploration of the extraordinary depth of Herman Charles Bosman’s humorous short stories. It argues that while his stories are entirely readable as light fiction, they are also revelatory of the nature of literary art. Their art allows us to experience the depth that ordinary life possesses. 

The book sets its argument in the context of a discussion of the depth of fiction in relation to truth, and consequently of the relation of the charms of the worlds of fiction to the reality of everyday life.

Herman Charles Bosman and the Depth of Humorous Storytelling is essential reading for philosophers of literary aesthetics as well as for scholars in literary studies, narrative theory, and comparative literature.

Jeremy Barris is a professor of philosophy at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, USA