Story and Discourse - by Seymour Chatman (Paperback)

About the Book

For the specialist in the study of narrative structure, this is a solid and very perceptive exploration of the issues salient to the telling of a story--whatever the medium.

Book Synopsis

"For the specialist in the study of narrative structure, this is a solid and very perceptive exploration of the issues salient to the telling of a story--whatever the medium. Chatman, whose approach here is at once dualist and structuralist, divides his subject into the 'what' of the narrative (Story) and the 'way' (Discourse)... Chatman's command of his material is impressive."--Library Journal

From the Back Cover

Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. 'For the specialist in the study of narrative structure, this is a solid and very perceptive exploration of the issues salient to the telling of a story-whatever the medium. Chatman, whose approach here is at once dualist and structuralist, divides his subject into the 'what' of the narrative (Story) and the 'way'(Discourse)... Chatman's command of his material is impressive.'

Review Quotes

An important American contribution to the study of narrative theory.

-- "Choice"

What I appreciate most in Chatman's study are the problem-solving activities and ambitions: again and again, he proves capable of defining areas to investigate (the borders between narrative and other temporal genres, for example, the typography of plots, the distinctive features of foregrounding and backgrounding) and of discussing narrative in terms of problems and solutions. When I opened the Chatman volume, I read the blurb first: 'A judicious and well-informed book, Story and Discourse should become the standard guide to narrative and to modern thinking about narrative.' The blurb is right.

--Gerald Prince "MLN"

About the Author

Seymour Chatman is Professor of Rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley.