Rhetorics of Fantasy [Paperback]

Farah Mendlesohn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2008

Transcending arguments over the definition of fantasy literature, Rhetorics of Fantasy introduces a provocative new system of classification for the genre. Utilizing nearly two hundred examples of modern fantasy, author Farah Mendlesohn uses this system to explore how fiction writers construct their fantastic worlds. Mendlesohn posits four categories of fantasy--portal-quest, immersive, intrusion, and liminal--that arise out of the relationship of the protagonist to the fantasy world. Using these sets, Mendlesohn argues that the author's stylistic decisions are then shaped by the inescapably political demands of the category in which they choose to write. Each chapter covers at least twenty books in detail, ranging from nineteenth-century fantasy and horror to extensive coverage of some of the best books in the contemporary field. Offering a wide-ranging discussion and penetrating comparative analysis, Rhetorics of Fantasy will excite fans and provide a wealth of material for scholarly and classroom discussion.

Includes discussion of works by over 100 authors, including Lloyd Alexander, Peter Beagle, Marion Zimmer Bradley, John Crowley, Stephen R. Donaldson, Stephen King, C. S. Lewis, Gregory Maguire, Robin McKinley, China Mieville, Suniti Namjoshi, Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, Sheri S. Tepper, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tad Williams

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mendlesohn goes well beyond a survey to offer new and often surprising readings of works both familiar and obscure. A fine critical work that offers fresh insights on almost every page." (Brian Attebery, editor, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts )

About the Author

FARAH MENDLESOHN teaches at Middlesex University, London. She was editor of Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction for six years, and is the author of Diana Wynne Jones and the Children's Fantastical Tradition (2005) and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (2006), winner of a Hugo Award. She is the program director for the World Science Fiction Convention in Montreal in 2009.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wesleyan; First edition. edition (April 30, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819568686
• ISBN-13: 978-0819568687
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > History & Criticism

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars First steps on a Taxonomic Journey June 14, 2008

By Sean Holland

Format:Paperback

Best to start with the "Health Warning: This book is not intended to create rules. Its categories are not intended to fix anything in stone. This book is merely a portal into fantasy, a tour around the skeletons and exoskeletons of the genre." (P. vii)

So, this book is trying to find common ground among the various paths of fantasy so we can at least discuss the various types with some agreed upon framework. Mendleson divides fantasy up into four primary categories:

Portal-Quest Fantasy: These are two strains (well represented by Narnia and Middle Earth) that are almost parallel in how they are told, the protagonist(s) ventures into another/wider world, learning about it and ultimately setting things right. These are stories of correction, often crouched in terms of healing or restoring things to how they once were. It is an interesting section as I never thought about certain aspects of the structure of the Quest fantasy, such as how history must be uncovered and it always true . . . as is prophecy. Characters in the portal-quest fantasy often accept their role reluctantly but they accept that the role is both true and necessary.

Immersive Fantasy: Immersive fantasy is rather odd category, as it is an umbrella for the worlds in which other stories are told, such as mysteries in a fantasy world (Randall Garret's Lord Darcy series) or romances (many, but not my sub-genre) or war stories (Glen Cook's Black Company). Immersive fantasy can even hold other types of fantasy stories within them (such as the intrusion fantasy within China Mieville's Perdito Street Station). The key to immersive fantasies is how they present the world we find ourselves viewing as the only world, the techniques to do so are discussed by Mendleson and where they can fail.

Intrusion Fantasy: These are in some ways the opposite of the Portal Fantasy, with the fantastic breaking through into another world (usually ours). The intrusion fantasy is typified by the horror genre (such as Lovecraft's stories) with every escalating threats and a resolution that restores the status quo . . . or something resembling it. Characters in the intrusion fantasy are often skeptical until almost too late.

Liminal Fantasy: This is the most unusual fantasy, and the smallest category, the one where the fantastic is never fully revealed but always around the next corner or just out of sight. Such as if you had found the wardrobe to Narnia, yet never crossed through. While I have read books that I consider to represent the others, I do not recall reading something which I would put into the liminal category.

Mendleson peppers each section with multiple examples (and a fair amount of technical terminology, see the glossary) and does a good job is discussing the twists and turns of each genre as well as counter examples and a concluding chapter ("The Irregulars": Subverting the Taxonomy) on those books that do not fit into the four categories above. Again, not featuring books I have read but still interesting.

Just as it is intended to do, it makes me think about ways to discus fantasy and as such I believe this is a successful book. I hope to see more from Mendleson, and others, on this subject for an agreed upon vocabulary is a useful tool for discussing a subject that we all enjoy.

A useful glossary of terms for the non-English majors reading this book:

Dialectic - Finding truth through discussion and debate.

Phatic- In linguistics, a phatic expression is one whose only function is to perform a social task, as opposed to conveying information.

Metonymy - A word or expression used for something that it is closely related to (i.e. Downing Street to refer to the British Prime Minister).

Mimesis - Imitative representation of the real world in fiction. Thus Mimetic Fiction tries to represent the world as it is.

Monosemy- A text having a single meaning, an absence of ambiguity (usually used of individual words or phrases).

Polysemy / Polysemic - The idea that texts are capable of many potential meanings and readings and can be read in a variety of ways.

Solipsism - The view that the self is all that can be know to exist.

Taxonomy - A scheme of classification; theory and practice of classification.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars techniques of different types of fantasy literature May 20, 2008

By Henry Berry

Format:Paperback

Mendlesohn has read widely in the field of fantasy literature "for an understanding of the construction [word in italics in original] of the genre...in order to provide critic tools for further analysis." Teaching at London's Middlesex U., she is coauthor of The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction and other works.

Believing "that the fantastic is an area of literature that is heavily dependent on the dialectic between author and reader for the construction of a sense of wonder," the author sought to gain an understanding of how this sense of wonder which is the literature's main appeal for its readers is aroused. Mendlesohn identified four basic "constructions"--the portal-quest fantasy, the immersive fantasy, and intrusion fantasy, and the liminal fantasy. Each is somewhat self-explanatory from the author's name for it. Each creates a respective sense of wonder by its author's skilled, experienced employment of techniques proper to it.

Liminal fantasy is "that form of fantasy which estranges the reader from the fantastic as seen and described by the protagonist." Joan Aiken's story "Yes, But Today Is Tuesday" is analyzed as a prime example of the liminal fantasy. C. S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" represents the portal-quest fantasy. "The Lord of the Rings" is a classic quest fantasy. With each type of fantasy, Mendlesohn uses both familiar and obscure, often older works to impart her multipart perspective on the field.

As the author recognizes, fantasy works often have aspects of other types besides the type they fundamentally belong to. "Lord of the Rings," for instance, has aspects of immersive fantasy; this is found mostly in the scenes of the Shire. Though readers and critics may debate which type some fantasy works belong to, consideration of Mendlesohn's four major types--or categories--offer increased understanding of the field for critics, singular instruction for writers, and greater appreciation for the field's legions of readers.