Review: The History and Significance of Chapter Divisions in Literature
By
cacher
Pure flour-power. Hearty enough to carry you through lunch.
Summary
This article is a book review by Joshua Barnes examining Nicholas Dames' historical study of literary segmentation and chapter divisions in books. The review explores the evolution of how books have been divided into chapters throughout literary history, analyzing what this structural convention reveals about different historical periods and reading practices. The piece references Lydia Davis's translation experiments and Laurence Sterne's unfinished novel 'A Sentimental Journey' as examples of unconventional literary structuring.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledWhy did books start being divided into chapters?
a study that slices through and pauses over what chapters have always told us about the times we live in
Davis had in this case tried to translate a literary text, not from French but rather from English into English
Laurence Sterne's unfinished 1768 novel, A Sentimental Journey
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