Overview

The Narrative Turn in Fiction and Theory explores the philosophical and historical underpinnings of the postwar crisis and return of storytelling and shows their relevance for the ongoing debate on the significance of narrative for human existence.

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9781137401052

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Reviews

“Hanna Meretoja has written an important, even essential, study of postwar French literary history. … her study could well serve as a more general intellectual and cultural history of postwar France … . her study embodies that very dialogical narrativity that is the great achievement of the postwar crisis and return of storytelling.” (Charles R. Sullivan, Studies in 20th & 21st Century Literature, newprairiepress.org, Vol. 41 (2), 2017) 

'Hanna Meretoja's exploration of new trends in contemporary European literature is of very high quality indeed. This book represents a significant contribution to the studies of twentieth-century French literature and narrative theory.' - Simon Kemp, University of Oxford, UK 'Meretoja's book has evident relevance and usefulness for any professional reader internationally, in the field of literature and philosophy, in particular, ethics. It synthesises from a clear, critical, and engaged perspective an impressive amount of philosophical research on narrativity, subjectivity, and their ethical implications. It also shows in an exemplary way how to combine textual analysis, literary history and philosophical/ethical discussion.' - Liesbeth Korthals Altes, University of Groningen, The Netherlands 'Meretoja's book develops a philosophical approach to literature which sees fiction as dynamically bound up with philosophy, not as a medium for expressing pre-existing positions but as one of the ways in which existing ideas are explored and tested. This understanding of the literary text as performing thought in its very literary form makes possible the exchange which the book negotiates between the texts and a wide range of contemporary thinkers. The philosophical and literary acumen shown here is deeply impressive. This is high stakes literary criticism. Secondary writing on literature can sometimes be clever but trivial; no one can make that accusation at this study. This is an original, innovative and scholarly piece of work that constitutes a major contribution to literary criticism, narrative studies and the humanities more broadly.' - Colin Davis, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

'Hanna Meretoja's exploration of new trends in contemporary European literature is of very high quality indeed. This book represents a significant contribution to the studies of twentieth-century French literature and narrative theory.' - Simon Kemp, University of Oxford, UK

Author Information

Hanna Meretoja is Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Tampere, Finland, Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow at the University of Turku, Finland, Visiting Professor at the American University of Paris, France, (2013-14) and leads the research project The Ethics of Storytelling and the Experience of History in Contemporary Arts (Emil Aaltonen Foundation, Finland, 2013-15). She has co-edited several books and published articles on forums such as New Literary History.

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