NEW ACCENTS General Editor Terence Hawkes 'This is a well-organized and cogently argued book .' Chƣce Newspaper reports, histo books, novels, ms, comic strips, pantomime. dance, gossip and psychoanalytic sessions are only some of the narratives which permeate our lives. One type of narrative comprises the subject of this book-'narrative fiction' whether in the of novel. shon Story or narrative poem. What is a namtive? What is namove fiction? How do it differ from other kinds of narrative? What features turn a discourse into a narrative text? By turning her anention to and other questions Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan provides a synthesis of contemporary approaches to nar rative fict ion, considering in panicular Anglo-Amerin New Criticism, Russian Formalism. Fren Stcturalism, the Td-Aviv Schꝏl of Poetics and the Phenomenolo of ding. In contrast to other studies. Nav( Fiction is organized around the issues involved- for example, events. timc, focalization, characterization, narration. the tt and its reading- ther than e individual theoristS or approaches. By following such a course Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan is able to offer mc persona) views on ;md modifitions to the ri and, while pnng an analysis and a description of e system goveing l fictional namtives, she also su how individual narratives n be studied against the bacround of this general system. To illustrate the many aspects of her study, numerous examples are dwn from tʦ of different periods and national literarures. ShIomith on-Kenan is Prof r of English and Comparative Literature at e Hebrew Universiry, Jeruem. Literature 11 New Fetter Lane London EC4P 4EE 29 West 35th Street New York 10001 IS�llr�� 1���ili� 1 9 780415 0429 49 NAR RATI VE FICTION cont�mporary poetICS Shlomith Rimmon-Kenan