Overview

Jacques Derrida has argued about the difference between literature and theory that despite its institutional status, part of its ‘institution' is the right of literature to say anything. Literature cannot be defined as such, and as soon as one seeks to produce a reading of the literary, complications arise.  Yet despite its institutional significance, ‘theory' remains something many wish would go away; and which, for others, is still not read, is misread, and remains to be read. Like literature, it remains as an enigmatic identity, resistant to definition, but subject to misperceptions and open to general statements that are more or less inaccurate. By examining how ‘theory' and ‘literature' are concepts and names which touch on one other in complex ways, Julian Wolfreys seeks to understand their intersections and differences. Examining a wide range of authors, from Dickens to Joyce, and engaging directly with a number of major theorists, Wolfreys takes the reader on a journey through the issues and ideas involved in reading literature, in theory. 

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9781441161529

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Reviews

'Julian Wolfreys continue to impress, as one of the finest readers -- and teachers -- of literature today, with this new book. From the original and multi-layered readings of novels from Dickens and Hardy to Ann Bronte and Percival Everett, Wolfreys moves us into an almost visceral recognition of the changeable and interchangeable natures of fiction and critical theory. The pages on J Hillis Miller are a virtual tour de force that brings the four topics of the title into brilliant focus.'<br>- Juliet Flower MacCannell, Professor Emerita of English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Irvine, USA

Author Information

JULIAN WOLFREYS is Associate Professor in the department of English at the University of Florida, UK.

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