AtD (37) pp.1040 ff. Thoughts on Lew Basnight, detective.

[Dave Monroe]

On Sat, Jul 19, 2008 at 10:00 AM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:

> "The detective is a metaphor for the writer: the isolated figure trying to comprehend a disordered world, constructing a narrative that makes sense, and trying to persuade others to believe in his or her account."

"It seems probable that if we were never bewildered there would never
be a story to tell about us ....  Therefore it is that the wary reader
for the most part warns the novelist against making his character too
interpretive of the muddle of fate, or in other words too divinely,
too priggishly clever.  'Give us plenty of bewlidement,' this monitor
seems to say, 'so long a there is plenty of slashing out in the
bewliderment too.  But don't, we beseech you, give us too much
intelligence; for intelligence--well, endangers ....  It opens up too
many considerations, possibilities, issues ...."

--Henry James, "Preface," The Princess Casamassima  (1886)

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0701&msg=114339

I'd venture that the history of "Western thought," literature, what
have you, is a series of detective stories, attempt to reveal truths
occluded by appearances (e.g., Plato's Parable of the Cave).  Then's
there's Poe's "Purloined Letter," hidden in plain sight ...

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0701&msg=114275

Not to mention Robbe-Grillet's Erasers ...

http://www.groveatlantic.com/grove/bin/wc.dll?groveproc~genauth~625~1158~DESC

Then ...