Detective Fiction in a Postcolonial and Transnational World - Hardcover

Pearson, Nels

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754668487 ISBN 13: 9780754668480

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

Taking up a neglected area in the study of the crime novel, this collection investigates the growing number of writers who adapt conventions of detective fiction to expose problems of law, ethics, and truth that arise in postcolonial and transnational communities. While detective fiction has been linked to imperialism and constructions of race from its earliest origins, recent developments signal the evolution of the genre into a potent framework for narrating the complexities of identity, citizenship, and justice in a postcolonial world. Among the authors considered are Vikram Chandra, Gabriel García Márquez, Michael Ondaatje, Patrick Chamoiseau, Mario Vargas Llosa, Suki Kim, and Walter Mosley. The essays explore detective stories set in Latin America, the Caribbean, India, and North America, including novels that view the American metropolis from the point of view of Asian American, African American, or Latino characters. Offering ten new and original essays by scholars in the field, this volume highlights the diverse employment of detective fictions internationally, and uncovers important political and historical subtexts of popular crime novels.

About this title

About the Author

Nels Pearson is Assistant Professor of English at Fairfield University, USa and Marc Singer is Assistant Professor of English at Howard University, USA

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0754668487
• ISBN 13: 9780754668480
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Singer Marc