"Iser is an influential figure, and aficionados will welcome the comprehensive exposition he provides here." -- Terence Cave, TLSThe pioneer of "literary anthropology," Wolfgang Iser presents a wide-ranging and comprehensive exploration of this new field in an attempt to explain the human need for t[...]

There is a tacit assumption that interpretation comes naturally, that human beings live by constantly interpreting. In this sense, we might even rephrase Descartes by saying: We interpret, therefore we are. While such a basic human disposition makes interpretation appear to come naturally, the forms[...]

Iser examines what happens during the reading process, and how it is basic to the development of a theory of aesthetic response, setting in motion a chain of events that depends both on the text and the exercise of certain human faculties.[...]

This book is the first in-depth monograph on one of the most celebrated German literary theoristsof the 20th century. Via an accessible analysis of Iser's complete English and German writings, this study explains his acclaimed reception theory and connects the famous notions of 'blanks' and the 'imp[...]