Such Stuff as Dreams

Keith Oatley is Professor Emeritus of Cognitive Psychology at the University of Toronto. He is the co-author of Understanding Emotions (Blackwell, 2006), the most widely used textbook on this subject, and has written three works of fiction, including The Case of Emily V. (1993), which won the 1994 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Novel.

“Such Stuff as Dreamsis a remarkable book in several ways. It stands out by the breadth of the topics covered, extending beyond the reader to also include the writing and the communication about fiction, and by the diversity and richness of the many different concepts and studies brought to bear upon the topic.”  (JLTonline, 1 July 2014Review copy sent on 29.05.14 to PsycCRITIQUES Featured in The Scotsman - 25 July 2011Featured in The Yorkshire Post - 23 August 2011Featured in The Guardian - 22 July 2012Featured in The Independent - 28 August 2012Featured in The Globe & Mail - 9 September 2011BBC Radio 4 interview - 7 July 2012Featured in Times Literary Supplement - 30 March 2012"Such Stuff as Dreams is a welcome and well-informed foray into a neglected research area. As someone who has thought very hard about the making of fiction as well as the creative engagement with it, Oatley is an excellent guide to the science of an art form whose value, in this brave new world of cognitive neuroscience, is undiminshed. His claim is that fiction, like other art forms, allows us to experience emotions in new contexts, and thus learn more about these emotions and ourselves. His achievement is to show us the many ways in which this is true." (The Psychologist, April 2012)"Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers." (Choice, 1 January 2012)"Fiction, according to this cognitive psychologist, is a "dream" or mental "model" or "simulation", and now its effects can be probed with modern scientific techniques . . . Oatley explains with enthusiasm the results of his and others' experiments on readers." (The Guardian, 22 July 2011)"Keith Oatley's book asks why we read, and what happens to our mind when we do. It is a winning combination of psychology, literary criticism and speculation." (The Scotsman, 30 July 2011)Review in The Times and The Sunday Times e- paper - 12/07/11."Much of the discussion is compelling, and this book could well change the way you read . . . Still, his writing is entertaining and he's tapping into a rich vein, and I hope he will explore the subject further." (New Scientist, 23 July 2011)?

• Preface. Acknowledgments.1 Fiction as dream: Models, world-building, simulation.2 The space-in-between: Childhood play as the entrance to fiction.3 Creativity: Imagined worlds.4 Character, action, incident: Mental models of people and their doings.5 Emotions: Scenes in the imagination.6 Writing fiction: Cues for the reader.7 Effects of fiction: Is fiction good for you?8 Talking about fiction: Interpretation in conversation.Endnotes.Bibliography.Name Index.Subject Index.