Reading Gaps and Writing Distances: Toward a Narratology of the Short Story Cycle

This thesis seeks to broaden creative and critical understanding of the short story cycle, a genre of prose fiction. It does so in two distinct but interrelated parts: my own short-story cycle, A Better Way of Living, and the critical component, Reading Gaps and Writing Distances: Toward a Narratology of the Short Story Cycle. This thesis aims to establish a comprehensive account of the genre by developing a narratology to discuss its form and function. By distinguishing the short story cycle from the story collection and the novel, my research seeks to advance the genre's canon both critically and creatively.