Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fiction - by John J Han & C Clark Triplett & Matthew Bardowell (Paperback)

About the Book

"This essay collection explores mystery fiction as a genre that renders moral judgments not only about detectives and criminals but also concerning the cultural structures within which these mysteries unfold"--

Book Synopsis

Mystery fiction as a genre renders moral judgments not only about detectives and criminals but also concerning the cultural structures within which these mysteries unfold.

In contrast to other volumes which examine morality in crime fiction through the lenses of personal guilt and personal justice, Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fiction analyzes the effect of moral imagination on the moral structures implicit in the genre. In recent years, public awareness has attended to the relationship between social structures and justice, and this collection centers on how personal ethics and social ethics are bound together amidst the shifting moral landscapes of mystery fiction.

Contributors discuss the interplay between personal guilt and social guilt - considering morality and justice on an individual level and at a societal level - using frameworks of certainty and ambiguity. They show how individual characters in works by Agatha Christie, Gabriel García Márquez, Natsuo Kirino, F.H. Batacan, and Stephen King, among others, may view their moral standing with certainty but clash with the established mores of their culture.

Featuring essays on Japanese, Filipino, Indian, and Colombian mystery fiction, as well as American and British fiction, this volume analyzes social guilt and justice across cultures, showing how individuals grapple with the certainty, and, at times, the moral ambiguity, of their respective cultures.

Review Quotes

Certainty and Ambiguity in Global Mystery Fictionis an essay collection that speaks to the scope of detective fiction as a genre, and both the contributors and the texts under discussion illustrate its international prominence. Moving from Golden Age to contemporary works, the essays address morality and the moral imagination as positioned within historical, social, and cultural contexts. The accessible treatments of authors and texts indicate not just the variety of the field but also tensions that arise when narrative structures and moral frameworks confront lived experiences.
Ann Martin, Associate Professor of English Literature, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

A much-needed investigation of the parameters of morality in that genre most concerned with the capacity of human behaviour for evil and justice.
Stacy Gillis, Senior Lecturer in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University, UK

About the Author

John J. Han is Professor of English and Creative Writing at Missouri Baptist University, USA, where he teaches world literature, creative writing, and mystery fiction, among others.

C. Clark Triplett is Emeritus Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Psychology at Missouri Baptist University, USA.

Matthew R. Bardowell is Associate Professor of English at Missouri Baptist University, USA, where he teaches British literature, world literature, and composition.