postmodern mystery

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


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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


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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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