"Having received his PhD in comparative literature, Buch Leander previously enjoyed critical attention for his chapter in Narrative Beginnings: Theories and Practices, ed. by Brian Richardson (2008). The present title, a recasting of Buch Leander's dissertation, comes with the endorsement of the highly regarded Jonathan Culler, Buch Leander’s dissertation committee chair, who writes that "this book will become a standard reference point for people writing on the novel." Buch Leander ambitiously attempts a comprehensive taxonomy of the openings of novels, the first such study ever to be published. Consisting of four chapters, an epilogue, and an appendix that critiques the evolution of narrative openings from the Greeks through the emergence and ongoing development of the novel, the book is thorough in its examination of previous criticism. Focusing almost exclusively on American and European literature and criticism, the author pays particularly close attention to the impact of modernity on the openings of novels. Since it assumes near-expert familiarity with relatively complex literary theory, this study is not appropriate for nonspecialists. Recommended."

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