Thor Magnus Tangerås is an associate professor of rhetoric at Kristiania University College, Oslo. He teaches courses in rhetoric and narrative methods.

‘This highly original and illuminating book is a methodological tour de force offering rich and compelling means to analyse, understand and demonstrate the transformative power of literary reading in its living context. Essential reading for everyone concerned with the place of literature in the world today.’ —Josie Billington, Professor of English Literature, University of Liverpool, UK

• Preface; Acknowledgements; Chapter One: Introduction; Chapter Two: Intimate Reading: A Narrative Method; Chapter Three: Veronica’s Bruise; Chapter Four: Nina’s Life- Long Friend Flicka; Chapter Five: Esther’s Episode; Chapter Six: Jane’s Visionary Reading; Chapter Seven: Sue’s Buried Life; Chapter Eight: Reading by Heart: Lexithymia and Transformative Affective Patterns; Bibliography; Index.