Customer Reviews

The Triumph of Narrative: Storytelling in the Age of Mass Culture

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An engaging, lucid and thoughtful exploration of the human impulse to tell stories, from urban legends to postmodernist theory. If I were still doing the academic thing I would be assigning this little book to first- and second-year history students. Since the text of this book was given as a series of lectures on CBC radio, it's a very fluid and easy read. Definitely worthwhile.

Fulford's slim and easily readable book provides a fascinating glimpse into the way we use stories and narratives today. He points out how gossip is the new American storytelling, how postmodern linguistic theorists have their heads stuck in the sand, and gives startling evidence for how Ivanhoe influenced the culture of the Old South. I have great respect for authors who can provide complex theories in easily readable, humorous prose, and Fulford certainly fits that particular bill. Great for undergrads and anyone who likes a good read.

Both of the previous reviewers make the same point - which I heartily agree with - that this book would be a shoo-in with undergraduates.

But what about the rest of the world?

This is a fairly short book (152 pages in the main text) divided fairly evenly over five chapters. Nothing surprising there, since the book is the text of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's 1999 Massey lectures delivered by Fulford. Unfortunately the "lecture" element comes across all too clearly, not to mention a certain amount of academic tunnel vision.

The author seems to have a thing about the Bible, which he imperiously dismisses several times, apparently ignoring its ongoing best-seller status.

Of course buying doesn't necessarily constitute believing, but then we are talking about 'storytelling' here, not about 'religious beliefs', and since the author subsequently makes such a big thing about the influence of Sir Walter Scott's novel "Ivanhoe", which has had such a (comparatively) short life span, and given the still ongoing battle in the US over the pro- and anti-evolutionist versions of the creation story, it seems strange, not to say biased, that the influence of the Bible is almost totally ignored.

Having said that, it's hard to know what the Mr Fulford is actually trying to achieve - other than filling five lecture slots.
The author's take on his subject suggests a man who goes to the zoo and looks at the bipeds and the quadrapeds, the carnivores and the herbivores but who, at the end of the day has no idea what an "elephant" looks like, and certainly hasn't the faintest idea whether it's the Indian elephants or the African elephants which have the larger ears.

Looking back, the book came across as being a collection of ideas, loosely strung together, but none of them developed to any significant degree. Despite the constantly academic tone of the book, the author can be engaging, even amusing, and I found the last two chapters "The Cracked Mirror of Modernity" and "Nostalgia, Knighthood, and the Circle of Dreams" thoroughly entertaining. But there's nothing about the contents of the book that really stands out in my mind only a short time after reading it.

I've given the book three stars simply on account of its entertainment value. But would I actually recommend it to anyone interested in the storytelling process?
I don't think so.

[And it's the African elephants which have the larger ears :) ]

Fulford has opened my eyes to the significance of narrative. In this great reference to the many forms of narrative that are celebrated today and the past, Fulford combines a wonderful randition of thought provoking considerations which have helped me get through first year university english. It should be carried in every university student's backpack!