The Fantastic

Tzvetan Todorov is Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris. A native of Bulgaria living in France for over four decades, he is among the most influential literary and cultural theorists writing today. Among his many books available in English translation are Theories of the Symbol and Symbolism and Interpretation, both available from Cornell.

Foreword, by Robert Scholes 1. Literary Genres 2. Definition of the Fantastic 3. The Uncanny and the Marvelous 4. Poetry and Allegory 5. Discourse of the Fantastic 6. Themes of the Fantastic: Introduction 7. Themes of the Self 8. Themes of the Other 9. Themes of the Fantastic: Conclusion 10. Literature and the Fantastic Index

"This work is much more than what its title might imply to an American reader. It is not simply another 'formalist' categorizing of a particular literary genre. Todorov involves himself in a consideration of the concept of literary genre (with a perceptive critique of Northrop Frye), a detailed and perceptive discourse on 'the fantastic,' ... and finally a philosophical-historical discussion of the relation of 'the fantastic' to literature itself... This is an important work for anyone interested in criticism in general or in the criticism of fiction in particular."-Choice "This, the first of Todorov's books to be translated into English (it was originally published in French in 1970), is brilliant... Todorov's attempt to formulate a general theory for studying themes without subordinating literary theory to the social sciences makes this book indispensable to serious students of lietarture."-Library Journal