Exploring a Framework of Unreadability in Narrative Fiction

This article explores a framework for analysis and discussion of unreadability in narrative fiction. The framework categorizes experiences of unreadability based on qualities of four recognized elements of narrative fiction which commonly generate the experience of unreadability among would-be-readers. These categories include text as object, fictional narration, fictional world, and fictional characters. The framework is applied to narrative fiction examples which reveal potential strengths such as bringing into focus the persistence of unreadability in spite of the application of alternative reading strategies, potential complexities of identifying the generative locus of unreadability within a quality, and some potential limits of such a framework.