The Preparation of the Novel

The Preparation of the Novel by Roland Barthes


ISBN
9780231136150
Published
Binding
Paperback
Pages
512
Dimensions
178 x 254mm

Completed just weeks before his death, the lectures in this volume mark a critical juncture in the career of Roland Barthes, in which he declared the intention, deeply felt, to write a novel. Unfolding over the course of two years, Barthes engaged in a unique pedagogical experiment: he combined teaching and writing to "simulate" the trial of novel-writing, exploring every step of the creative process along the way.

Barthes's lectures move from the desire to write to the actual decision making, planning, and material act of producing a novel. He meets the difficulty of transitioning from short, concise notations (exemplified by his favorite literary form, haiku) to longer, uninterrupted flows of narrative, and he encounters a number of setbacks. Barthes takes solace in a diverse group of writers, including Dante, whose La Vita Nuova was similarly inspired by the death of a loved one, and he turns to classical philosophy, Taoism, and the works of Francois-Rene Chateaubriand, Gustave Flaubert, Franz Kafka, and Marcel Proust.

This book uniquely includes eight elliptical plans for Barthes's unwritten novel, which he titled Vita Nova, and lecture notes that sketch the critic's views on photography. Following on The Neutral: Lecture Course at the College de France (1977-1978) and a third forthcoming collection of Barthes lectures, this volume provides an intensely personal account of the labor and love of writing.
Christmas Catalogue 2024 x BookFrenzy
62.89
RRP: $73.99
15% off RRP


This product is unable to be ordered online. Please check in-store availability.
Instore Price: $73.99
Enter your Postcode or Suburb to view availability and delivery times.

Other Titles by Roland Barthes

Camera Lucida
22.99
19.54
15% Off
Mythologies
22.99
19.54
15% Off
How to Live Together
63.99
54.39
15% Off
Album
47.99
40.79
15% Off
Travels in China
103.95
88.36
15% Off
Camera Lucida
22.99
19.54
15% Off
Roland Barthes
19.99
16.99
15% Off

You might also like

The Wheel of Time Companion
34.99
29.74
15% Off
The Trial
16.99
14.44
15% Off
Wanting
22.99
19.54
15% Off

RRP refers to the Recommended Retail Price as set out by the original publisher at time of release.
The RRP set by overseas publishers may vary to those set by local publishers due to exchange rates and shipping costs.
Due to our competitive pricing, we may have not sold all products at their original RRP.