The subtitle of this book is "Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder." Bordwell was an influential film scholar; this book, the last one he published, focuses on crime fiction and films in the 1900s up to more recent times. He discusses the development of crime fiction plots and narratives and notes the same developments in plays and film of that time. In the book, he proposes that crime fiction exposed audiences to new forms of storytelling and increased their familiarity and acceptance of more complex plots.
But I am not knowledgeable about films and film theory, so I will also include this description from Columbia University Press, the publisher of the book:
In Perplexing Plots, David Bordwell reveals how crime fiction, plays, and films made unconventional narrative mainstream. He shows that since the nineteenth century, detective stories and suspense thrillers have allowed ambitious storytellers to experiment with narrative. Tales of crime and mystery became a training ground where audiences learned to appreciate artifice. These genres demand a sophisticated awareness of storytelling conventions: they play games with narrative form and toy with audience expectations.
I was motivated to read this book for Bordwell's in-depth discussion of crime fiction authors. He was a big fan of Rex Stout (as am I). One chapter is devoted to Stout's Nero Wolfe series and Erle Stanley Gardner's mysteries. Two other chapters I particularly enjoyed were "Viewpoints, Narrow and Expansive: Patricia Highsmith and Ed McBain" and "Donald Westlake and the Richard Stark Machine." Raymond Chandler's books were also covered in depth.
This book was very dense, sometimes over my head, but I enjoyed it. The content was academic; not dry but challenging.
My husband read Bordwell's previous book, Reinventing Hollywood: How 1940s Filmmakers Changed Movie Storytelling. I will be reading that book, maybe next year.
Publisher: Columbia University Press, 2023
Length: 412 pages
Format: Trade paperback
Genre: Nonfiction
Source: I purchased this book in 2023.
Probably too dense for me, but I do love the idea behind it. As a side note, I love Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books. I fell in love with the show as a kid, and own the box set of it. I found the books as an adult, and even though the book version of Perry is a bit darker and grittier. I still enjoy them as well.
ReplyDeleteI love the Perry Mason TV shows and we have watched several season of it. The books are grittier than the show, as you say, but I enjoy both the novels and the TV adaptations.
DeleteThe book is very dense but interesting. Took me a long time to get through it. I am a slow reader.
I like books that analyze the mystery genre. I must get around to reading more Rex Stout. And it's not like I have to read thecseries in order. I could begin anywhere based on what plot interests me.
ReplyDeleteKathy, David Bordwell is a big fan of mystery fiction and especially earlier mystery authors, so I learned a lot from this book. I agree, you can mostly read any Rex Stout books in the Nero Wolfe series in any order; even though he published those books between 1934 and 1975, the books reflect the time they were written. Wolfe and Archie don't age. The only book to avoid would be the last one, A Family Affair, which should be read last.
DeleteThis sounds absolutely fascinating, Tracy! Using examples both from film and from writing is an effective way to show the development of crime fiction. It sounds like the sort of book you 'sip on,' rather than 'gulp,' and sometimes, that works well. I should look into this one.
ReplyDeleteMargot, you are right, this book is better read a bit at a time, but I was eager to get to the parts I was interested in. And I wanted to take in the background that preceded that.
DeleteThis does sound intriguing, but probably over my head. My husband was on a Perry Mason kick awhile back and I think he watched all of the episodes. I've only seen a few.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I checked with my husband, and we did watch all of the original Perry Mason episodes. The last seasons we watched via streaming. We even bought a set of the Perry Mason movies with Raymond Burr, although we have only watched one of those. The original TV series is a lot of fun.
DeleteI just got a book from the library called In the Beginnings: First Novels in Mystery Series. If you have not read it, I will send you the Rex Stout chapter. I must have seen it referenced, so although I don't recall what made me put it on hold at the library I am sure it will be interesting.
ReplyDeleteConstance, That does sound like an interesting book. I thank you for telling me about the book, and for offering to send me a copy of the Rex Stout chapter, but I found a copy of the book at ABEBOOKS.com for a reasonable amount and ordered a copy.
DeleteI don't think this is a book I'd be interested in, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteAsh @ Essentially Ash
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Ash, I got a lot out of reading this book, but I can understand that others might not find it so interesting.
DeleteSeems interesting.
ReplyDeleteNeer, I did find Perplexing Thoughts very interesting, but some parts of it were hard for me to read.
DeleteSounds great to me. Will see if my library system has it.
ReplyDeletePatti, This is definitely a very interesting read, both for the crime fiction aspects and the parts about films. But for me his analysis of the various author's books was the best part.
DeleteIt's great that he included discussions on the classic crime fiction authors you often read & like. I hope you got much out of those chapters ... though it does sound sort of academic. I'm sure it'd go over my head too.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I am glad I read the book all the way through initially but there are specific chapters I will reread in the future.
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