Friday, April 29, 2011

The Frame Function

Jan Cronin, 
AUP. $49.99
Readers of Frame’s books frequently sense the presence of some kind of puzzle to be solved but can’t quite distil its parameters. The Frame Function takes as its starting point this capacity of Frame’s texts to lure the reader into looking for solutions while simultaneously deterring such behaviour. In crafting a portrait of Frame’s compositional processes, Cronin provides new insights into the underlying relationship between prescriptiveness and elusiveness in Frame’s work. The Frame Function is a guide for those who are intrigued, stimulated, sometimes baffled by Frame’s powerful novels.

About the author.
Jan Cronin is a senior lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Auckland. She completed a PhD on Frame’s novels at the University of Leeds in 2004 and co-edited Frameworks: Contemporary Criticism on Janet Frame (2009). Cronin undertook extensive research in Frame archives in the United States and Australia in 2007 and 2008.

The Frame Function was launched last night at Unity Books Auckland by Peter Simpson. A report on the launch and Peter Simpson's comments will appear on the blog later.

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