postmodern mystery
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By Ted Gioia
What do postmodern writers have against the mysterynovel? For reasons that perhaps only a Lacan or Derridacould deconstruct, they have turned to it again and again,wreaking havoc with its rules and formulas, and trans-forming the conventional whodunit into a playground forthe most experimental tendencies and avant-gardetechniques. The culprits: Thomas Pynchon, VladimirNabokov, Paul Auster, Jorge Luis Borges, Alain Robbe-Grillet and a host of other literary hit men and hit women.
Related Articles:The Postmodern Mystery: 50 Essential WorksSelected Quotes on Detective Fiction
In the process, they have created an entirely new genre:thepostmodern mystery. These books possess a paradoxicalbeauty, both celebrating and undermining the precepts ofcrime fiction. To some degree, these are the emblematicbooks of our time. They recognize our desire for thecertainty and affirmation of order epitomized by thetraditional mystery story, yet they also play on our desireto reject formulas and move beyond the constraints of thepast. We want to savor this reassuring heritage, with itsneat and tidy to solutions to all problems, even whileenjoying the fun of toppling it over and watching thepieces fall where they may.
Even so, fans of conventional whodunits may do well tosteer clear of these books, which will thwart theirexpectations, mess with their minds, and possiblyundermine their faith in the triumph of law and order.
The Eight Memes of thePostmodern Mystery
PostmodernMystery
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Put simply, these books are not for the faint of heart.
But how do you know which works of fiction fall underthe rubric of postmodern mystery? Like any detective,thereader needs to gather evidence and look for clues. Hereisa checklist: my handy guide to the eight memes of thepostmodern mystery. Be on the lookout for thesetell-talesigns, and if you encounter any of them in a book orstory,take all necessary precautions.
1. The Author Appears as a Character...or Even aSuspect: The worst most writers have to fear is a badreview or poor sales. But these authors might get aconviction and the death penalty. That’s the price theypay for showing up as characters in their own novelswithout a good alibi.
Examples:Cameron McCabe: The Face on the Cutting-Room FloorNorman Holland: Death in a Delphi SeminarMiguel Syjuco: Ilustrado
2. An Obsession with Texts: Forget about solving thecrime, postmodern detectives wants to interpret a text. Orwrite a text. Or sometimes they are hiding inside a text. Why bother with fingerprints and autopsy reports, whenyou could be consulting Baudrillard and Barthes? Theproducers of C.S.I. are reportedly so entranced by thesebooks, that they are planning a follow-up show calledM.L.A.
Examples:Vladimir Nabokov: Pale FirePaul Auster: The New York TrilogyGilbert Sorrentino: Mulligan Stew
3. The Failed Detective: When Professor Moriaritygrappled with Sherlock Holmes, sending both plunging totheir death at Reichenbach Falls, reader outrage was sointense, Arthur Conan Doyle was forced to resurrect hisfamous detective in a follow-up story. Postmodern
Martin AmisLondon Fields
Paul AusterLeviathan
The New York Trilogy
Thomas BernhardThe Lime Works
Jedediah BerryThe Manual of Detection
Alfred BesterThe Demolished Man
Roberto Bolaño2666
Jorge Luis BorgesFicciones
Truman CapoteIn Cold Blood
Michael ChabonThe Yiddish Policemen's Union
Agatha ChristieThe A.B.C. Murders
Robert CooverNoir
Friedrich DürrenmattThe Pledge
Umberto EcoFoucault's Pendulum
The Name of the Rose
David GordonThe Serialist
Witold GombrowiczCosmos
Mark HaddonThe Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night-Time
Elizabeth Hand
Conceptual FictionGreat Books Guide
The New CanonTed Gioia's homepageTed Gioia (on Twitter)
American Fiction NotesThe Art of Reading
The Big ReadBlographia Literaria
Books, Inq.Bookslut
BooksquareA Commonplace Blog
Conversational ReadingCrimespree Magazine
Critical MassDana Gioia
The Elegant VariationFictionaut
In Search of the Classic MysteryJoseph PeschelLight Reading
The Literary SaloonLos Angeles Review of Books
Maud NewtonThe Millions
The Misread CityMystery Fanfare
The Neglected Books PageNota Bene Books
Open Letters MonthlyReaderville
The Reading ExperienceReviews and Responses
Tipping My FedoraWaggish
Postmodern Mystery http://www.postmodernmystery.com/index.html
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readers,in contrast, are sympathetic to the failed and foileddetective—ready to forgive incompetence with an easyexcuse such as "Forget it, Jake, it’s Chinatown."
Examples:Friedrich Dürrenmatt: The PledgeLeonardo Sciascia: Equal DangerAlain Robbe-Grillet: The Erasers
4. The Scales of Justice are Sagging: Remember thatold adage about "crime doesn't pay"? It doesn't apply inthe postmodern mystery. In these works, the detectivesare the patsies, while the criminals seem to have aninexhaustible supply of Monopoly "Get Out of Jail Free"cards.
Examples:Patricia Highsmith: The Talented Mr. RipleyJean-Patrick Manchette: The Prone GunmanGabriel García Márquez: Chronicle of a Death Foretold
5. Not Much Crime, But Plenty of Clues: Why worryabout solving a particular crime, when the whole world isaweb of clues and complicity? In the postmodern novel,almost everything can be seen as evidence, and even themost banal, everyday event can be infused with a sense ofparanoia and foreboding.
Examples:Witold Gombrowicz: CosmosThomas Pynchon: The Crying of Lot 49Umberto Eco: Foucault’s Pendulum
6. The Wounded Investigator: The heroic qualities ofthe detective are undermined in the postmodern mystery. Instead of the shrewd and courageous privateinvestigator,we encounter Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old autisticboy, or Lionel Essrog, afflicted with Tourette’s syndrome,or Doc Sportello, burned out on too many drugs withbarely enough brain cells functioning to find where heparked his car, let alone solve a murder mystery.
Generation Loss
Patricia HighsmithThe Talented Mr. Ripley
Norman N. HollandDeath in a Delphi Seminar
Franz KafkaThe Trial
Jonathan LethemGun, with Occasional Music
Motherless Brooklyn
Jean-Patrick ManchetteThe Prone Gunman
Gabriel García MárquezChronicle of a Death Foretold
Cameron McCabeThe Face on the Cutting-Room
Floor
Philip MacDonaldThe Rynox Murder
China MiévilleThe City and the City
Mo YanThe Republic of Wine
Patrick ModianoMissing Person
Haruki MurakamiKafka on the Shore
A Wild Sheep Chase
Vladimir NabokovPale Fire
Joyce Carol OatesMysteries of Winterthurn
Flann O'BrienThe Third Policeman
Orhan PamukThe Black Book
Postmodern Mystery http://www.postmodernmystery.com/index.html
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Examples:Jonathan Lethem: Motherless BrooklynMark Haddon: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-TimeThomas Pynchon: Inherent Vice
7. The Genre Mashup: The postmodern mind delightsin the juxtaposition of contrary genres and styles. So whyshouldn’t a postmodern mystery also take on elements ofasci-fi story? Or a gothic romance? Or a historicalnovel?
Examples:Joyce Carol Oates: Mysteries of WinterthurnDouglas Adams: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective AgencyUmberto Eco: The Name of the Rose
8. There’s No Mystery Here!: Why would the authorofa crime story tell you the identity of the killer on pageone? Doesn’t that spoil all the fun? But postmodernauthors have a different kind of fun in mind, and part of itis playing games with your genre expectations.
Examples:Martin Amis: London FieldsPaul Auster: LeviathanThomas Bernhard: The Lime Works
Georges PerecA Void
Marisha PesslSpecial Topics in Calamity Physics
Thomas PynchonThe Crying of Lot 49
Inherent Vice
Alain Robbe-GrilletThe ErasersThe Voyeur
Leonardo SciasciaThe Day of the Owl
Equal Danger
Gilbert SorrentinoMulligan Stew
Theodore SturgeonSome of Your Blood
Miguel SyjucoIlustrado
Other articles and feature:50 Essential Postmodern Mysteries
The 8 Memes of the Postmodern MysterySelected Quotes on Detective Fiction
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Contact Info:tedgioia@hotmail.com
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Disclosure: This site and its sister sites mayreceive promotional copies of works under
review and discussion.
Postmodern Mystery http://www.postmodernmystery.com/index.html
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