The sequential dynamics of narrative

"Focusing on a hitherto neglected area of narrative theory, this study of the sequential dynamics of texts examines the nature of linkages across and between narrative units. Within the larger rubric of temporal and continuity relationships, it proposes taxonomies of transitions and order transforms, at both micro-sequential and macro-sequential levels. These narrative relationships are seen to project semantic interests by turning the reader's attention to energies operating at the margins, where shifts of direction can crucially affect the work's pacing, flow, and significance."

"For all readers attracted to the general issues posed by the interplay of temporality and narrative, and interested in the techniques and construction of texts, this study offers a practical approach, in its typologies of narrative phase, tabular and graphic representations, its glossary of terms, and in its general application to all texts. The practice of sequential dynamics is related here to a central literary tradition of prose fiction, and the discussion should be of particular value for readers drawn to the novel as a genre, and to the transformations it has undergone through the centuries."--Jacket.