Drawing comparisons with other art forms, this book examines the role of aesthetic features in silent reading, such as narrative structure, and the core experience of reading a novel as a story rather than a scholarly exercise.

Focuses on the experience of the art form known as the novel

Uses the more common perspective of a reader who reads to be told a story, rather than for scholarly or critical analysis

Draws comparisons with experience of the other arts, music in particular

Explores the different effects of a range of narrative approaches