Palimpsests

By definition, a palimpsest is "a written document, usually on vellum or parchment, that has been written upon several times, often with remnants of erased writing still visible." Palimpsests (originally published in France in 1982), one of Gerard Genette's most important works, examines the manifold relationships a text may have with prior texts. In this regard, he treats the history and nature of parody, antinovels, pastiches, caricatures, commentary, allusion, imitations, and other textual relations. Genette describes the multiple ways a later text asks readers to read or remember an earlier one.

He is the major practitioner of narratological criticism, a pioneer in structuralism, and a much-admired literary historian. Gerard Genette is one of the most original and influential literary critics of modern France. Such works as Narrative Discourse and Mimologics (Nebraska 1995) have