The Art of Mystery: The Search for Questions

by Maud Casey

A sensitive and nuanced exploration of a seldom-discussed subject by an acclaimed novelist

The fourteenth volume in the Art of series conjures an ethereal subject: the idea of mystery in fiction. Mystery is not often discussed―apart from the genre―because, as Maud Casey says, “It’s not easy to talk about something that is a whispered invitation, a siren song, a flickering light in the distance.” Casey, the author of several critically acclaimed novels, reaches beyond the usual tool kit of fictional elements to ask the question: Where does mystery reside in a work of fiction? She takes us into the Land of Un―a space of uncertainty and unknowing―to find out and looks at the variety of ways mystery is created through character, image, structure, and haunted texts, including the novels of Shirley Jackson, Paul Yoon, J. M. Coetzee, and more. Casey’s wide-ranging discussion encompasses spirit photography, the radical nature of empathy, and contradictory characters, as she searches for questions rather than answers. The Art of Mystery is a striking and vibrant addition to the much-loved Art of series.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Crafts

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2018

About the author

Maud Casey lives in Washington, D.C. She is an Associate Professor of English and teaches in the MFA Creative Writing Program at the University of Maryland. She also teaches in the low-residency MFA Program at Warren Wilson and was a faculty member at the Breadloaf Writers Conference in 2009.

She has received the Italo Calvino Prize (2008), the St. Francis College Literary Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a 2008-2009 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship, and international fellowships from the Fundacion Valparaiso and the Hawthornden International Retreat for Writers.

Her essays and book reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book World, Salon, Poets and Writers, A Public Space and Literary Imagination.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maud Casey’s small book about how writers fill their work with mystery is worth reading twice. She writes about how other acclaimed writers as well artists in other mediums create works that make people think and ask questions, and ponder what is not on the page or in the art. In my opinion, the greatest works of art, and literature in particular, are ones we revisit over and over again and learn something new each time. Ms. Casey talks about how writers do that and she very much frames the discussion as one that is about great art.

I love great art, love great literature, (who doesn’t you say. Many, I say) and greatly appreciate the nuanced craft of creation that is required to make something great and lasting as opposed to good and fleeting. This difference is exactly what Ms. Casey speaks to. Unfortunately this isn’t a roadmap to creating the ephemeral in art. I don’t believe that exists. But the author does a good job of showing us how others have created mystery, have raised questions, have created a deep subtext in character, setting, and action.

If you want to be a better reader or a better writer or both, I recommend reading this small book. Then read it again if you can.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new book in Charles Baxter's "Art of" series." Some of these are boring and unmemorable (Baxter himself on Subplot and Birkerts on Memoir - I think their other books of criticism are more worth reading), some are really fine (Danticat won an award nomination for Art of Death) and though I have a few more to read (Voight on Syntax, Bram on History, and Castellani on Perspective), only one is actually bad (Dean Young's Art of Recklessness was a bewildering mess).

I enjoyed Casey's small case study/survey of mystery in fiction (mystery not as in the genre but in the sense of the ineffable, uncanny, and - though she didn't cite it - the third sort of mystery in James Meek's quote on my GR home page). She does a lot of plot summation here, but it's for the larger purpose, and she made me want to read Barbara Comyns The Vet's Daughter, Kosztolanyi's Skylark, and Paul Yoon's Snow Hunters, as well as her own fiction (e.g., The Man Who Went Away ).

Recently in a local book group I said something about the structure of a novel we were reading and a new member remarked "whoah you really don't read the way I do." That's just a result of reading books like this.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second in The Art Of Series that I've read. This series looks at various elements of fiction and how various authors (with lots of examples) approach a particular form of writing. I've been interested in these both from a writing and reading stand point. I've found these books have increased my appreciation of the craft of writing and how structure can advance and illuminate a story's message.

This book described how mystery is the heart of all fiction. First, why did the author write this particular story, what enticed the reader to pick it up and did impressions change? all books carry this type of mystery. Right away I found that this book looked at mystery in a much broader sense than just a Who Done It.

A particular point I think will stick with me is the idea that the writer must first craft a story to get the reader to ask the questions that the writer plans to answer. If the story does not do a good job in laying that ground work the reader is sure to be disappointed with the answers. I realized how often this is true for me. If I am looking for and expecting something the author never planned on presenting in the story it is likely because the questions or mystery of the story was something I missed either because it was not well presented or I missed some pivotal point.

I felt the book started out very strong but then in later chapters run out of ideas before running out of words.

**ONE amazing find in this book was the information about the photographer Vivian Maier. That alone makes it well worth the read. If you don't know about Vivian Maier take a look at the YouTube short video about the discovery of her work and the Trailer for the documentary Finding Vivian Maier.
I watched the full length documentary and it is full of mystery. An incredible example.

[Isabelle Qian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unclear to me who would read this other than MFA students. However, I am an MFA student. Therefore, I like it.

Read on new couch for Carmen’s class.

[L.K. Simonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Art of..." series from Graywolf Press are among my very favorite craft books, and I was keen to read what Maud Casey has to say about the Art of Mystery. The subtitle lets the reader know right away that this isn't a book about writing genre mysteries. It is a book about searching in the dark through fiction. It's a craft book about, to quote Maud Casey's mother, writer Jane Barnes, "inchoate reaching in heartfelt darkness." Isn't that lovely? I've highlighted enough passages - too many, probably - to give you an idea of the tone of The Art of Mystery. If you're a writer, read it. If you're a reader, read it. I think you'll find your time was well invested.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I attended a session earlier this year during which Casey presented a lot of the general ideas she covers in this book. Important note: The title could be misleading. If you are writing mysteries and looking for advice specific to that genre, this book is not really for you. It's about the idea of going somewhere unexpected--embarking on a journey, in writing and in reading, not knowing quite where you will end up (or if you will end up anywhere specific). It's about willingly surrendering to possibility and using the tools at your disposal as a writer to reveal (or to begin to get at), through details and descriptions, that which cannot be explained. The book is practical, but not in a step-by-step, prescriptive way. It's about creating and experiencing a feeling of exploration and revelation for character, author, and reader.

At times the book drifts into almost supernatural territory, which is less interesting to me, but the idea of writing towards meaningful questions is a great one, and much of the book is thought provoking for writers.

[Dan Ust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another in Graywolf’s the Art of series that I’ve read. My favorite so far remains James Longenbach’s The Art of the Poetic Line. At least, Longenbach’s book is the one that stuck with me.

The Art of Mystery at first made me think of mystery as in detective fiction. That’s not what this is about. It’s about the mysterious in any narrative — where the text leaps into the Land of Un: uncertainty, unknowing, unfathomability. She does this by looking at how this plays out in character and imagery along with discussions of works by Flannery O’Connor, James Baldwin, and Paul Yoon among others. (One of the benefits of a book like this is it adds to one’s reading list. She got me to read Yoon’s The Snow Hunters.)

[Rachel Pollock]

Read this in preparation for a writing workshop. The only other book in the series I’ve read is THE ART OF TIME IN FICTION by Joan Silber. Not sure how I feel about the series in general—I appreciate the concept, but they might work better as essay collections from a range of different writers on a given concept or topic.

[Matt Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written book, but I was hoping for more techniques for writing in the mystery genre.

Maud Casey is a spell-binding writer who really cares about the craft. That's all clear from this engaging essay about mystery in literature. She does a great job describing how to tap into that feeling of mystery, showing the audience what they don't know about the story, the world, and the characters. The examples she draws upon are powerful and beautiful and she does them great honor by conjuring up their spectral qualities.

That stuff was all very useful and fun to read, but I don't think I learned anything about writing a mystery plot. Clues and red herrings, misdirection and the process of getting characters to uncover the truth of the matter... none of this was in the book. If this was really about "The Art of Mystery" then I think she missed the bulk of the discussion.

The book is pretty expensive for its size ($18.50 CDN for less than 40,000 words), and that would have been worth it if this talked about the technique for writing mystery stories, but that didn't happen. This should have been called "The Feeling and Meaning of Mystery in Literature."

This makes me want to read Maud Casey's novels, but it hasn't taught me much about writing mystery stories.

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a discussion of the literary genre known as "mysteries" but rather a discussion of the aspect of fiction that puts the reader in a position of contemplating things inexpressible. "There is absolutely everything in great fiction but a clear answer," as Eudora Welty famously remarked.

I felt that Ms. Casey did a fine job in the opening chapters of describing to us what she meant by "mystery" and why its evocation can be so wonderful and haunting in fiction. If she could have sustained that discussion and that tone, I'd have liked the whole book much better. But, all too soon, she was reduced to giving us examples consisting of lengthy plot descriptions -- spoilers, in other words -- of works exemplifying the virtues of mystery in fiction. I went along with the first couple, authors I'd never heard of, but my resistance to being told plots kicked in pretty soon and, though I turned the pages, I had to skip most of the second half of the book.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Casey writes about the nature of the inexplicable, the unanswerable questions, with a tongue-in-cheek tone. At times, I felt I was being taken through a fun house, a realm to which she refers as "Un," where we are "undone." And I enjoyed the trip, and don't doubt the difficulty of guiding such a trip. However, I became less enchanted where I feel Casey did not adequately back up these bold declarations: with respect to first-person interiority, "There is nothing to see." Or "the unparaphrasable content of fiction . . . is first and foremost, a visceral experience." I enjoyed her examples from literature, though their backstories at times are so complete I have less desire to read them. I think she achieves her best balance describing the mystery evoked by visual artists in their works, such as those by photographer Vivian Maier and by painter Andrew Wyeth.

[Terri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise - how mystery works in stories, even stories that aren't true "mysteries." The book annoyed me because Casey made the various writers ventriloquists for her own opinions. If she had given her analysis of the various stories (the book is rich with them) as HER thoughts, I would have been fine with it. Instead she said here the author is saying or doing...

On the other hand, the list of books that she analyses is wide-ranging, from Henry James, Eudora Welty, James Baldwin, right up to Allison Bechdel and Steven Millhauser.

This was the first of the Grey Wolf Series I'd picked up. It's on to The Art of Subtext by Charles Baxter. Stay tuned.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected, namely because I didn’t notice the subtitle. I’ve enjoyed previous books in this series from Graywolf Press, namely Art of History and Art of Death. This book was no exception.

Where I expected a discussion of plots and intrigue, I instead found a series of essays on setting mood, establishing pacing, and feelings of voice. I found drawn into it (just like a good mystery!) and added several books to my TBR, particularly Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle”.

[Alissa Hattman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maud Casey explores this allusive topic of mystery in fiction with clarity and focus. I appreciated her framing the book with perceptions on "Un"—uncertainty, unfathomability, unknowing, and unheimlich—and how this is central to the art of fiction. Her interpretation of the windows in Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" will have anyone returning to his famous story with a new eye toward its many mysteries. Casey provides a good balance of close reading analysis, thoughtful comments on writing craft, humor and, of course, a bit of poetry/mystery. A gem in The Art of series!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still catching up with my reviews. Found this through a recommendation by the brilliant @lenizumas on something called Instagram. A collection of ruminative, knowing, witty, deliciously far-ranging essays that considers the art and allure of mystery, as in the unknown or the unknowable, in fiction. Casey lovingly draws from a diverse range of works to reflect her thesis, some of which I was familiar with and feel inspired to re-read, and others I'm now adding to my outlandish tsundoku situation.

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling exploration of "the land of Un", the unknowability that tempts the mind forward through a story. The Art of Mystery focuses chiefly on literary fiction, rather than the mystery genre, which is fine. Casey's analysis is illuminating and written with clarity, though certain chapters feel a little more scattershot than others. Ultimately I found it very useful.

[Karend · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book in so many ways -- lovely, interesting and funny writing in a perfect compact size. The experience of reading it felt special and personal. Can't wait to read the rest of this series.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to The Art Of series. The author invites you to explore the mystery behind the stories we may have read, as well as what is said and unsaid.

[Holly Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of deeply-considered explorations of great writing.
The passages on Sebald and on Andrew Wyeth in relation to James Baldwin were surprising and strong.

[Marion Lougheed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough, but not a very informative or practical read.

[Margaret Adams]

Fantastic.

Quotes:

"We fiction writers talk a lot--for good reason, and to good end--about character, point of view, dialogue, scene, and summary, but in my experience, we don't talk a lot about mystery. It's not easy to talk about something that is a whispered invitation, a siren song, a flickering light in the distance. It's not easy to talk about something that, even as it encourages us to seek it, resists explanation. Something that wafts like smoke around the edges of the page. Especially when there is, in our culture, an increasing intolerance for ambiguity, for Keats's famous "negative capability," in which, as he wrote, one is "capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason." But if stories are one of the ways we make sense of the world, they are also how we experience whatever doesn't make sense, whatever cannot be fully understood. Stories are how we stand in the presence of mystery. If mystery, the genre, is about finding the answers, then mystery, that elusive yet essential element of fiction, is abut finding the questions. In Chekhov's famous letter to a friend, he wrote, 'You are right to demand that an author take conscious stock of what he is doing, but you are confusing two concepts: answering the questions and formulating them correctly. Only the latter is required of an author.' Mystery in fiction resides in those carefully articulated questions, and in the unparaphrasable content of a story or a novel, the experienced meaning." - The Art of Mystery, by Maud Casey

“Volunteering to be undone is not, perhaps, for everyone. But the question is--and it’s a question every writer spends a lifetime thinking about--What do we want art to be? What do we want it to do? We don’t, for example, usually ascribe the status of art to something that does one thing. To something that is, say, purely functional. Or that is only a morality tale. Or that only gets you off. Nor, I’m guessing, do we want art only to offer guidance or comfort. Art requires mystery. Mystery--often unclear, often involving unlikable characters, always involving unanswered questions, and often seriously weird and unsettling--requires plunging the reader into that Keatsian state of uncertainty and doubt. No irritable reaching after fact and reason. The reader should, in other words, be undone.”

“Years after that impromptu camping trip in the pine forest, I asked my mother, Jane Barnes, who is also a writer, about her writing life. ‘Inchoate reaching in heartfelt darkness’ was how she described it.”

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small, slender volume. It's pretty as an object - I love the typeface and the paper quality.
Still, it's a bit difficult to follow without having read all the works referenced. I did so and found that an enlightening experience, reading a chapter, then seeking out and reading the works mentioned, then going back and re-reading the chapter.

"Mystery" is a difficult concept in writing, how to create that negative space for the reader's imagination, to give characters, locations, and objects secrets to keep.

It gave me a lot to think about.

[Samantha Devin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wrong choice of titles to analyse for a book that focuses on mystery?

I expected mystery to be the main theme. That the book, as the title says, would focus on the questions of how to create mystery in fiction. However, the book focuses mainly on authors whose main theme is exclusion by race or social class and on topics as mundane and UN-attractive or rather, as UN-mysterious, as drug trafficking or racism. It is not that these topics cannot be interesting, but the mystery that the book promises to analyze is not there.

[Sarah Schanze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't able to finish this before having to return it to the library, but what I read was still very interesting. It was much deeper than my initial expectations, and it's funny to read something that promotes an idea that is getting a fair bit of flack nowadays. Namely, the importance of not explaining everything to the reader.

[Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED the first two thirds of this book! It makes interesting and helpful points about creating the ineffable quality of wonder in fiction, and I highly recommend. The last few chapters weren't as helpful or engaging, but it's worth a read.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still digesting, but I loved Casey's style and there were some golden nuggets of knowledge I intend to mull over.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Shifts too much of the analysis to the examples and doesn't do enough of the work on its own.

[Meg Ready · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my absolute favorites in this series. I loved the writers & stories Casey brought in — and her lyrical analysis invites the reader in on the search for the well of undoing. A delight.

[Meaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive look of mystery's function in fiction, though it's much more complicated than that. Must-have for fiction writers.

[Jared · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how this will help my work but hope it does!