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Brian Richardson, ed. Narrative Dynamics: Essays on Time, Plot, Closure, and Frames. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2002. xi + 399 pp.
This new anthology collects twenty-seven essays on the subject of narrative dynamics, which editor Brian Richardson defines as "the movement of a narrative from its opening to its end" (1). Distinct from other narratological work in areas such as point of view, voice, or audience, Richardson's concept of narrative dynamics incorporates theoretical work on time, plot, sequence and progression, beginnings and endings, and narrative frames. The collection features many of the most prominent works in narrative theory, including Vladimir Propp on fairy-tale transformations; M. M. Bahktin on the chronotope; Gérard Genette on order, duration, and frequency; Peter Brooks on narrative desire; Nancy K. Miller on women's plots; James Phelan on narrative progression; Hayden White on history as narrative; Susan Stanford Friedman on spatialization; Jacques Derrida on textual boundaries; Edward Said on beginnings; and Rachel Blau DuPlessis on endings. The richness and variety of the readings make Narrative Dynamics a valuable, comprehensive reader for scholars of narrative theory.
The anthology's organization is not always as clear as it could be, however, particularly when it comes to distinguishing between the sections on...