Detecting Texts - The Metaphysical Detective Story from Poe to Postmodernism (Paperback, New)

Although readers of detective fiction ordinarily expect to learn the mystery's solution at the end, there is another kind of detective story-the history of which encompasses writers as diverse as Poe, Borges, Robbe-Grillet, Auster, and Stephen King-that ends with a question rather than an answer. The detective not only fails to solve the crime, but also confronts insoluble mysteries of interpretation and identity. As the contributors to Detecting Texts contend, such stories belong to a distinct genre, the "metaphysical detective story," in which the detective hero's inability to interpret the mystery inevitably casts doubt on the reader's similar attempt to make sense of the text and the world. Detecting Texts includes an introduction by the editors that defines the metaphysical detective story and traces its history from Poe's classic tales to today's postmodernist experiments. In addition to the editors, contributors include Stephen Bernstein, Joel Black, John T. Irwin, Jeffrey T. Nealon, and others.

General

Imprint:	University of PennsylvaniaPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	December 1998
First published:	1999
Editors:	Patricia Merivale • Susan Elizabeth Sweeney
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 23mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	320
Edition:	New
ISBN-13:	978-0-8122-1676-9
Categories:	Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > 19th century Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Literary studies > From 1900 Books > Language & Literature > Literature: history & criticism > Novels, other prose & writers > General Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Cultural studies > General
LSN:	0-8122-1676-8
Barcode:	9780812216769

Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate? Let us know about it.

Does this product have an incorrect or missing image? Send us a new image.

Is this product missing categories? Add more categories.

Review This Product

No reviews yet - be the first to create one!