The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative

This study is designed to help readers understand what narrative is, how it is constructed, how it acts upon us, how we act upon it, how it is transmitted, and how it changes when the medium or the cultural context change. Porter Abbott emphasizes that narrative is found not only in the arts but everywhere in the ordinary course of people's lives. An indispensable tool for students and teachers alike, this book will guide readers through the fundamental aspects of narrative.

"Abbott brilliantly zeroes in on the architecture of narrative with an exactness and bent for orderly exposition that utterly redeems his subject....The result is a superb taxonomy of what narrative means today." Chronicle of Higher Education

"Directness, accessibility, and coherence distinguish this brief but comprehensive study of narrative. It is very much the 'introduction' its title asserts because Abbott is consistent in his efforts to identify, explain and define. His approach is down-to-earth, even conversational, and yet he integrates terms or references intrinsic to the study of narrative. The plethora of examples and illustrations - both 'classic' and contemporary, drawn from cirtical and theoretical texts, novels, short stories...films and television - is a major strength making narrative concepts clear....Most highly recommended." Choice

"Written in an unfailingly lucid style that nonetheless refuses to 'dumb down' the major research questions facing analysts of stories, this book provides an ideal starting-point for readers seeking a synoptic overview of

recent scholarship on narrative. More than just a primer for readers unfamiliar with previous research on stories, however, Abbott's book itself represents a significant contribution to the field of narrative studies." David Herman, Symploke

"A lucid, practical, wide-ranging, and...original introduction to narrative, which will be useful to undergraduate and graduate courses on literary theory and criticism. This is not a dry textbook, however; the reader is made aware of a real voice and of a fascination with the role of narrative across many cultures and beyond." Derek Attridge