Being Taught Something World-Sized

This paper reads ‘The Detainee’s Tale as told to Ali Smith’ (2016) an exemplary demonstration of the work world literature. Smith’s story articulates ethics reading that is grounded in recipient’s openness singular, unpredictable, and unverifiable text other. More specifically, account enables very event it painstakingly stages: encounter with alterity newness, which both theme narrative effect on reader. At same time, however, urges move from literature understood responsible reception other by individual reader a more explicitly convivial political commitment beyond scene reading.