Elements of Surprise Our mental Limits and the Satisfaction of Plot by Vera Tobin

Do you want to discover why we are so delighted, when we go to the cinema for seeing a movie, or when, reading a book, we agree because of the happy end? Are you curious to discover how, our various mental options, while reading or watching a movie, are  directed in the direction that the creatives want to give to our mind?

If, for work or for pleasure, you want to discover more of what there is behind certain mental choices in literature or movies, there is nothing better than: Elements of Surprise Our mental Limits and the Satisfaction of Plot by Vera Tobin. Published by Harvard University Press, the author explains brilliantly how, a beautiful story, a mental construction of an intuition becomes a wonderful tale or movie but also how, certain mental directions, can be appreciated or not, - and why - by readers or viewers.

The analyses of beloved works like Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, The Sixth Sense, a novel about Sherlock Holmes, and many other beloved books and movies will be revelatories of our mental process.

The author will also express some considerations regarding rereading.
It is opinion of a lot of academics that the first reading of a classic or a book in general is not sufficient for appreciating, understanding it and that rereading would be the best thing to do; after all a real reader should be classified a rereader.

A rereader is someone who wants not just to appreciate a book he/she had previously read but someone absolutely interested to add new shades at the story he previously read maybe too stressed for understanding the most of that in the previous reading. Not only: rereading in different ages of our life gives more profundity.

Tobin will also take in consideration the so-called curse of knowledge. A novel, a movie is a mental invention, in most cases a very well structured work. The readers, or viewers in the while have built during their existence a consistent amount of knowledge, knowledge given by studies, reading,  life, experience and so they will "read the book" or "see the movie" using their own interpretation and expectations based on their sense of the reality.

Beautiful book, structured in eight chapter, it is a captivating, intense, interesting reading.


I love the cover, with Alice in Wonderland as protagonist. More than any other character she projects the reader in a land of fantasy.

Highly recommended to everyone and in particular to bookworms and cinema-lovers.

Happy reading!

I thank Harvard University Press for the physical copy of this book.

Anna Maria Polidori