Mendelsund explains that because reading is such an instinctual process, we often get strong emotional impressions about what it is like to read, but he starts by explaining that much can be learned beyond what it feels like to read. He explains his poly-technical background in the arts: as a classically trained pianist, he feels literature experiences can be likened to musical experience.
He observes that although some people have strong impressions about characters, there are many instances when author's create vivid, compelling characters without ever describing them. He reminds his reader of the technical explanation: technically, the reader is assembling thought impressions together, by stringing together a long series of objects that are associated, and then combined with character experiences. The reader can often fill in the rest psychically, until they feel emotionally that they have experienced the character, often picturing some imaginary image of what they might look like.
Then, he says that our ability to feel attachment with a character has little to do with our ability to perceive them in concrete detail. Instead, we identify with their points of view, with elements of their character's psychology, with the various thoughts and associations of an artists prose, until we synthesize an experience of the literary character.
He discusses various literary figures, explaining how devices can be used to help the reader to have a more compelling experience of a character. Instead of using detail for detail's sake, he feels that characters can be shaped through literary techniques that highlight which parts of the character are broadly relatable.
