This second edition of Luc Herman’s and Bart Vervaeck’s Handbook of Narrative Analysis seeks to provide an introduction to the key terminology and the history of thought within the field of narratology. Over the course of an introduction and three chapters, Herman and Vervaeck examine primary questions in the field of narratology, key concepts, structuralism, and post-classical narratology. As they state in their introduction, “Our overall aim in this handbook is to make narrative theory available to those who are interested in close and ideologically relevant readings of literary prose” (10). Through their concise and clear descriptions of complex theoretical concepts, they achieve this goal and still provide readers with additional questions that they may take into further readings.

Herman and Vervaeck use three texts as illustrative case studies for all the theoretical approaches they provide. The first is “Pegasian” by Charlotte Mutsaers, the second “The Map” by Gerrit Krol, and the third, a comic titled “City” by Wasco. All three of these texts are provided in the appendices of the book, allowing for the reader to participate in the authors’ models of narratological examination throughout. The handbook is well-organized, with each section building on what came before to provide a well-rounded notion of the breadth of narratological thought. While the chapters themselves are substantial in length, they are broken down into smaller sections to focus on particular elements of each theory being treated. For instance, chapter 3, on post-classical narratology, has sub-chapters on feminist narratology and post-colonial narratology to provide these ideas with their own space for examination. Further, each page has notes in the margins indicating where main ideas and discussions begin and end. When the chapter uses possible-world theory to analyze “The Map,” for example, it is indicated in the margins where on the page this analysis begins. This organizational approach is highly effective and allows for return readers to find specific information quickly.

Another of the strengths of this handbook is the authors’ realistic focus. There are locations in each chapter where they present possible ideas or arguments to accompany the strategy they have just discussed, but admit that such questions are beyond this scope of the handbook. This serves the double function of keeping the handbook streamlined and effective and providing direction for readers who wish to continue their study of narratology. The book is full of references to other narratologists and has nearly seventy pages of endnotes to accompany their primary text.

The handbook takes heed of historical approaches but equally treats new ones, examining advantages and disadvantages to each. With regard to the latter, the authors are careful to acknowledge their privilege when discussing theories such as queer and feminist theory so as not to skew their presentation. That said, there are moments in which their attempted use of such theories in their examples seems a bit clumsy, and it is notable that the space dedicated to post-colonial theories is the shortest of their sections in the narratology and ideology sub-chapter.

Overall, this handbook is successful in its efforts to distill complex concepts of narratology for a beginner in the field without over-simplifying or misrepresenting the information. It is well-organized and does not get bogged down in terminology and jargon. It would make a useful tool in a classroom for upper-level undergraduates or graduate students who are in the early stages of exploring narratology. Similarly, it is an excellent touchstone for researchers more comfortable with narratological thought and who simply need a reference book at hand. It certainly holds value in the field of narratological research and for academics at varying levels of their career.

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[Review length: 602 words • Review posted on April 23, 2020]