The Sense of an Ending
Subtitle: Studies in the Theory of Fiction (Mary Flexner Lectures)
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: December 31, 1968
Language: eng
Number of pages: 334
ISBN-13: 9780195007701
First sentence: It is not expected of critics as it is of poets that they should help us to make sense of our lives; they are bound only to attempt the lesser feat of making sense of the ways we try to make sense of our lives.
Description: This significant exploration of the relationship of fiction to age-old conception of chaos and crisis brings highly concentrated insights to bear upon some of the most unyielding philosophical and aesthetic enigmas. Mr. Kermode ranges through the works of writers from Plato to Sorokin, showing how men have persistently imposed their "fictions" upon the face of eternity and how these have reflected the apocalyptic spirit. -- back cover