Theoretical developments in the last few decades, especially affect and cognitive theories, have invigorated thinking about how and why we read, but they have so far not been extensively applied to Heian literature. Along with Reginald Jackson's recent work, Sarra's book brings The Tale of Genji into these conversations. Grounded in close readings inflected with literary theory and previous Genji scholarship, Sarra's monograph guides readers through Genji's figuration of the house, an interpretive mode that reverberates across Heian literature and beyond.
Through an introduction, seven chapters, and an epilogue, Unreal Houses analyzes houses of Genji, Tamakazura, and Kaoru to show how they—as actual buildings, narratological constructions, and genealogical manifestations—act as real and unreal sites to think through dilemmas, not only of polygynous marriages but also of narratives people tell. What meaning do characters and readers ascribe to such structures and hence themselves? The introduction and first chapter deftly lay...
