Atmospheres are both insubstantial and yet very palpable – for example, think about tension that feels so thick you could cut it with a knife. Whether you’re decorating a room or throwing a party, creating the right atmosphere can mean the difference between success and failure. But Dora Zhang argues that no one person is ever in full control of an atmosphere, it’s always something collective, not just a projection of one person’s mood. When it comes to literature, too, atmospheres emerge collectively from the readers, the characters, and the language of the text.