Author: Kemp, Simon

Source: Romance Studies, Volume 20, Number 2, December 2002 , pp. 179-189(11)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

Abstract:

Echenoz's crime-fiction-related novels occupy an equivocal position with regard to their source material, being neither crime fiction themselves nor outright parodies of the genre. The article explores this relationship as one of pastiche, and in doing so considers the various, often negative critical views of pastiche as a literary form. Fredric Jameson's pessimistic opinions are of particular interest, and the article sets out to discover how his views are justified or refuted by Echenoz's work. Closely examining some of the novels' incorporations and distortions of the tropes of crime fiction, and looking especially at Echenoz's handling of the crime fiction denouement, the study seeks out the aspects of textual play and implicit critique inherent in the pastiche. The picture that emerges is of an intertextual relationship that is both celebratory and deconstructive, a necessarily complex attitude towards a genre which can be at the same time formulaic and intensely self-conscious.

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/026399002786543240

Publication date: 2002-12-01

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