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The Seven Basic Plots

Why We Tell Stories

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The Seven Basic Plots

By: Christopher Booker
Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
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About this listen

This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of "basic stories" in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it reveals that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling.

But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are "programmed" to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have "lost the plot" by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose.

Booker analyzes why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5,000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.

©2004 Christopher Booker (P)2019 Tantor Customs & Traditions Social Sciences Storytelling

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it’s taken months of listening but is inescapably essential content for the craft of storytelling, worthwhile not least for the entertainment of the hundreds of summarised stories themselves. I am in awe of Mr Booker’s magnum opus, and will spend the rest of my career putting his thoughts into practice.

Stunning masterpiece

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If you’re interested in the structural aspect of stories, this is a must-listen. Booker’s approach includes stories of every kind, and this therefore has a more accessible nature, which I think effectively highlights the structural foundations of the seven basic plots of the title. Very effective and compelling. The first large section of this book is focused on these and variants thereof. I found it riveting.
The next section deals with some case studies, which are interesting, and then dark inversions, which is essentially a variant of what’s come previously, but is also interesting.
The later sections are somewhat more meandering, a little less sharp and more conversational in tone, exploring politics and religion from the story point of view, and the more recent focus on sex and violence (which I personally found a bit much)
Booker is inclined to recapitulate the plots of stories rather than analysing them, which occasionally becomes a little tedious, but the overall detail and analysis makes up for this on the whole in my opinion.
Gerrard mostly does a good job, and on the day-to-day basis of the bulk of the narrative he is easy to listen to and well-paced. However, more unusual proper nouns he often either pronounces in a peculiar way, or mispronounces, occasionally gratingly. For me this was sporadically annoying but not enough to mar an otherwise decent performance of what is a very long audiobook with a sprawling subject-matter.

Story Structures Inspected, Mostly V Good

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The book itself has a lot of good points and interesting observations, but once it runs out of the seven basic plots and their variants (which kinda defeats the purpose of calling it only 7 basic plots), It just becomes incoherent ramblings about society, ww2, religion, on and on, about the same things over and over, and when you think you got out and he starts making a good point, he goes straight back up into rambling about something that has been already discussed several times before.

A large chunk of the book is also a retelling of other stories barely deconstructing them, often just talking about how deranged it's writers were and sometimes even calling popular stories faliures because they didn't fit into the archetype he set up.

The performance was good, it's hard to put in a good performance in a book that goes from fun to really dry every once in a while.

Good first half, painful second

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It's all about archetypes. A new way to look at stories. Long but worth the time.

I did wonder at times if I'd manage the entirety, but actually, once I'd settled into listening, this sped by.

A fascinating account spanning the whole of recorded storytelling, splitting the narratives we are familiar with (or not so) into seven categories. These are each broken down into constituent parts, elements focused on important to each, examples given that exemplify their structure and characteristics.

I liked the way the author details each book he utilises - the synopsis of the entire plot, useful if you've not read it or can't remember the detail, in order to compare it with whichever of the seven plots it fits into. I even learnt about several books I've not yet read (and sometimes not heard of). Even some popular films (Close Encounters, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial) are used as examples, showing that it's not just literary fiction that fits.

It did take some concentration, on audiobook, to continue listening for in excess of 38 hours, but the narrator's voice was absorbing and rousing.

This is a book I actually own in paperback and would want to read again on paper, to really attempt to take in more, there is so much detail that it feels impossible to soak up everything and see the constituent parts as sections of the whole.

Seeing stories as one of seven plots is an unfamiliar way of looking at a particular narrative, but a useful one, and picking out the common elements and archetypes an excellent means of classifying, breaking down, or potentially creating one.

Surprisingly enjoyable, though I would want a second read-through.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.

It's all about archetypes. Long but worth the time

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I really wanted to keep going with this book, but the narrator sounded as if he was taking the Mick the whole time. I will probably - though sometimes the writer flogs a well deceased horse - buy Seven Plots in physical form.

Seriously, though I'm a writer and love reading about story structure, I couldn't stand listening a moment longer.

interesting ideas spoiled

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This is my only review that I have submitted about a book but this one, albeit a behemoth at 30-hours listening, is incredible.

It manages to explain so much about stories, story telling, and ourselves as people. I couldn’t recommend it enough, it is intelligent and fascinating and well-deserved of commendation.

Absolutely fantastic

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An incredible view of the stories that have been told and which have played out again and again in our history. It reveals the reason for archetypes, beliefs and biases. Well worth listening to the full 40 hours. Well done to Liam Gerrard for stunning reading.

A masterpiece about masterpieces, expertly read.

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Goes into detail from the very miniscule cornes of storytelling, to such grandiouse topics as communism.

Most advanced level view on storytelling

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The book started promising with a very broad list of stories deconstructed but as soon as mainstream literature stops following the basic plots and ending in marriage or death, described at the beginning, the book becomes a rant on degrading art and society.
A lot of the book’s mass is retelling of the stories it talks about. Yet the understanding and deconstruction of modern literature pieces of the author seem to be very narrow and lacking context.
I didn’t find this book to be very useful in understanding story telling and would suggest rather listening to the base material itself - from greek myths, Aristotle to the modern pieces from Albert Camus and James Joyce (who the author seem to have hated) - it would give you a much more understanding of the subject and would be less of a waist of time.

A disappointingly narrow view on modern literature

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