Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
This book develops a method called intimate reading to investigate how ordinary readers are deeply moved by what they read, and the transformative impact such experiences have on their sense of self. The book presents unique narratives of such experiences and suggests a theory of transformative affective patterns that may form the basis of an affective literary theory.
‘This highly original and illuminating book is a methodological tour de force offering rich and compelling means to analyse, understand and demonstrate the transformative power of literary reading in its living context. Essential reading for everyone concerned with the place of literature in the world today.’ —Josie Billington, Professor of English Literature, University of Liverpool, UK
Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter One: Introduction; Chapter Two: Intimate Reading: A Narrative Method; Chapter Three: Veronica’s Bruise; Chapter Four: Nina’s Life- Long Friend Flicka; Chapter Five: Esther’s Episode; Chapter Six: Jane’s Visionary Reading; Chapter Seven: Sue’s Buried Life; Chapter Eight: Reading by Heart: Lexithymia and Transformative Affective Patterns; Bibliography; Index.