Globalization and the State in Contemporary Crime Fiction: A World of Crime

by Andrew Pepper (editor), David Schmid (Editor)

Why has crime fiction become a global genre? How do writers use crime fiction to reflect upon the changing nature of crime and policing in our contemporary world? This book argues that the globalization of crime fiction should not be celebrated uncritically. Instead, it looks at the new forms and techniques writers are using to examine the crimes and policing practices that define a rapidly changing world. In doing so, this collection of essays examines how the relationship between global crime, capitalism, and policing produces new configurations of violence in crime fiction – and asks whether the genre can find ways of analyzing and even opposing such violence as part of its necessarily limited search for justice both within and beyond the state.  

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2016

About the author

Andrew Pepper lives in Belfast where he is a lecturer in English at Queen's University.

Reviews

[Sally Sugarman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of essays examines crime fiction in terms of the changes occurring as a result of globalization of the crime novel. This not only includes examining the development of the crime novel in different countries around the world, but the impact of the effects of international capitalism on the changing nature of crime and society. There are also two chapters on the thriller/espionage novel and one essay on US Narratives of Nuclear Terrorism. In most cases the writers cite the work of specific writers as they make their points. Two ideas stand out which is that given global capitalism, it is difficult to tell the difference between the criminal classes and the ruling classes. Corruption is everywhere and the police represent the corrupt state and not the people they are supposed to protect. Individual crimes when they are solved to not resolve the problem, because the crimes are larger than individual cases. The reassurance that came with restoring order no longer is possible in this changed world. The other idea is the focus on violence particularly in Latin American countries. The Novel of Violence in Latin American Literature goes into great detail, particularly in terms of Brazil. The essay on Scandinavian crime literature is interesting because it looks at the changes over time from the work of Sjowall and Wahloo to the contemporary novelists including Mankell and Larsson, from a disillusionment with the welfare state to a defense of the economic, social and political system which the earlier writers had criticized as deficit in fulfilling its promises. The impact of neoliberalism seems to be corrupting not only the political process internationally, but the crime novel, which reflects social reality, as well. There is an essay on the changes in LeCarre’s work as well as the intelligence systems he had depicted being deficit are replaced by private security forces whose loyalty is only to the owners’ profits. This is a book that requires rereading in order to absorb and understand all of the arguments presented in the analysis of the genre brought about by the changes in society and economics internationally. However, even a first reading affects how one will read international crime novels.

[Léo]

skipped a bunch of articles given that they werent relevant to the study i was ready this for so i cant really give a rating but it surely was really interesting