What we see when we read : a phenomenology ; with illustrations / Peter Mendelsund.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mendelsund, Peter, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Books and reading.

Phenomenology.

Visual perception in literature.

Physical Description:

xix, 419 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Edition:

First Vintage Books edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Vintage Books, a division of Random House LLC, 2014.

Summary:

"A gorgeously unique, fully illustrated exploration into the phenomenology of reading--how we visualize images from reading works of literature, from one of our very best book jacket designers, himself a passionate reader. What do we see when we read? Did Tolstoy really describe Anna Karenina? Did Melville ever really tell us what, exactly, Ishmael looked like? The collection of fragmented images on a page--a graceful ear there, a stray curl, a hat positioned just so--and other clues and signifiers helps us to create an image of a character. But in fact our sense that we know a character intimately has little to do with our ability to concretely picture our beloved--or reviled--literary figures. In this remarkable work of nonfiction, Knopf's Associate Art Director Peter Mendelsund combines his profession, as an award-winning designer; his first career, as a classically trained pianist; and his first love, literature--he considers himself first and foremost as a reader--into what is sure to be one of the most provocative and unusual investigations into how we understand the act of reading"-- Provided by publisher.

"An illustrated exploration into the phenomenology of reading"-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9780804171632

0804171637

OCLC:

879467922