Story in the largest sense of the term is arguably the single most important aspect of narrative. But with the proliferation of antimimetic writing traditional narrative theory has been inadequate for conceptualizing and theorizing a vast body of innovative narratives. InampampnbspA Poetics of Plot for the TwentyFirst Century Theorizing Unruly Narratives Brian Richardson proposes a new model for evaluating literaturereturning to the basis of narrative theory to illuminate how authors play with and help clarify the boundaries of narrative theory. While he focuses on late modernist postmodern and contemporary narratives the study also includes many earlierampampnbspworks spanning from Aristophanes and Shakespeare through James Joyce and Virginia Woolf to Salman Rushdie and Angela Carter. By exploring fundamental questions about narrative Richardson provides a detailed nuanced and comprehensive theory that includes neglected categories of storytelling and significantly enhances our treatment of traditional areas of analysis. Ultimately this book promises to transform and expand the study of story and plot.ampampnbsp ampampnbsp