Memory in literature: from Rousseau to neuroscience
By Suzanne Nalbantian
Synopsis: This book is the first to discover and probe in depth memory phenomena captured in literary works. Using literature as a laboratory for the workings of the mind, this comparative study of writers from Jean-Jacques Rousseau to Octavio Paz, Proust to Faulkner, and others, uncovers valuable material for the classification of the memory process. Nalbantian's daring interdisciplinary work, involving literature, science, and art, forges a new model for dialogue between the disciplines.
Review
'In this book, Suzanne Nalbantian boldly ushers in a new way of writing about literature. She bridges the gap between literary criticism and the neurosciences by focusing on the phenomenon of memory as a site of interdisciplinary interaction. Fully informed about the recent developments of neurosciences, this book reopens a debate initiated at the turn of the last century with James and Bergson...' - Professor Jean-Michel Rabate, University of Pennsylvania 'Suzanne Nalbantian's Memory in Literature is a remarkable contribution to the voluminous literature on this most popular of subjects. Her range of reference, which includes not only a dozen major novelists and poets but painters as well along with all the major players from psychology and neuroscience, is most impressive. As she moves easily between languages she achieves an overview of the subject that is linguistically unconfined' - Professor James Olney, Louisiana State University 'There is much of interest here and much to learn from this sophisticated book.' - Brain: A Journal of Neurology 'well-informed and readable book' - Michael Eskin, Arcadia
Review: Language & Literature Magazine
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