Telling in Henry James

Telling in Henry James argues that James's contribution to narrative and narrative theories is a lifelong exploration of how to "e;tell,"e; but not, as Douglas has it in "e;The Turn of the Screw"e; in any "e;literal, vulgar way."e; James's fiction offers multiple, and often contradictory, reading (in)directions. Zwinger's overarching contention is that the telling detail is that which cannot be accounted for with any single critical or theoretical lens-that reading James is in some real sense a reading of the disquietingly inassimilable "e;fictional machinery."e; The analyses offered by each of the six chapters are grounded in close reading and focused on oddments-textual equivalents to the "e;particles"e; James describes as caught in a silken spider web, in a famous analogy used in "e;The Art of Fiction"e; to describe the kind of "e;consciousness"e; James wants his fiction to present to the reader.Telling in Henry James attends to the sheer fun of James's wit and verbal dexterity, to the cognitive tune-up offered by the complexities and nuances of his precise and rhythmic syntax, and to the complex and contradictory contrapuntal impact of the language on the page, tongue, and ear.