French Literature Reviews - 2026

Andrei Minzetanu, La lecture vertueuse
Literary Theory, Linguistics and Stylistics

Review published in Acta Fabula (March 2022, vol. 23, no. 3): How to read against oneself? by Léo Mesguich

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To avoid any misunderstanding and prevent potential disappointment: the "virtuous reading" discussed in this book does not seek to perpetuate either a religious tradition aimed at helping readers overcome the inconsistencies and obscurities of sacred texts to cultivate their moral and spiritual lives free from cognitive dissonance, or a humanist tradition whose core objectives involve a specific carving of the literary canon and the formation of exemplary citizens.

The virtuous reading examined here is the result of a theoretical construct designed to foster a harmonious coexistence between "ordinary" and "professional" reading, between an epistemology of objectivation and an epistemology of virtues. Its central questions are as follows: how can we reconcile the pleasure of adherence and the freedom of discovery with methodological rigor? Under what conditions can our reading enable us to multiply our warranted and justified beliefs? In other words, what must we do—and what must we give up—for reading to facilitate our essential access to truth?

Read the first pages of the introduction on Fabula…

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Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Professional reading

2. The model of Michel Charles

3. Reading filters

4. Reading as an event (or the "existential filter")

5. Reading as confinement (or the "self-confirmation filter")

6. Reading by adherence

7. Reading by resistance

8. The sense of detail or critical tact

9. Virtuous reading.

Andrei Minzetanu's study explores the complex relationship between ordinary and professional reading, addressing fundamental questions about how literary engagement can expand our justified beliefs without sacrificing the pleasure of adherence. Rather than aligning with traditional moral or religious frameworks, the work constructs a rigorous theoretical model to bridge the gap between objective epistemology and intellectual virtues. By examining various modes of engagement—from reading as an event to reading as confinement—the book offers a sophisticated reflection on the ethics and methodology of literary interpretation for contemporary scholars.

This text will particularly interest researchers, literary theorists, and advanced students of literature seeking to navigate the tensions between critical detachment and immersive reading. It provides valuable conceptual tools for anyone invested in the epistemology of criticism, notably through its engagement with the models of Michel Charles and the careful calibration of critical tact. By asking what readers must embrace and what they must relinquish in the pursuit of truth, Minzetanu invites a deeper self-awareness regarding the filters through which we approach texts.