Isabel Allende, that’s who. The famous and bestselling
literary novelist has written a mystery, Ripper,
that’s just been published by HarperCollins and is already climbing the charts.
It’s getting publicity and reviews all
over the place. In fact, National Public Radio just did an interview with Allende
in which she states that she doesn’t like mysteries or crime fiction and doesn’t
read them, but her agent was in a panic when Allende announced she was retiring
and suggested she write a mystery instead. (Presumably because it would be so
much less work than her usual novels?) Interview available here
http://www.npr.org/2014/01/25/265246811/author-interview-isabel-allende
Allende said she looked at three best-selling mysteries that
year (2012), all by Scandinavian authors, “Stieg Larson and Jo Nesbo and that
kind of people,” and decided she hated the darkness and violence, so she would turn
the whole genre on its head and write a “tongue-in-cheek” mystery that is still
“faithful to the formula.” “My sleuth will not be this handsome detective or
journalist or policeman or whatever,” Allende said. “It will be a young
16-year-old nerd. My female protagonist will not be this promiscuous,
beautiful, dark-haired, thin lady. It will be a plump, blond healer and so
forth.”
I know, I know. This blog has an audience of mystery readers
and writers, so everyone is shouting about the various books with
unconventional protagonists and characters that don’t fit her stereotypes. But
she doesn’t read mysteries, so she has no idea of the diversity of characters,
backgrounds, themes, and writing styles to be found within the community.
At least when J.K. Rowling wrote a mystery, it was because
she read and enjoyed the books. She did her best to write a good mystery and
didn’t give the impression she felt she was "slumming.” Other literary greats
have written mysteries, often under pseudonyms, because they enjoyed reading
them—for example, Benjamin Black (literary novelist and Nobel Prize candidate John
Banville), Amanda Cross (acclaimed
feminist scholar and professor Carolyn Heilbrun) . Many literary writers and
professors and others of that ilk have the idea that they could just toss off a
successful mystery or thriller in a couple of weeks, however, and have stated
their contempt for the form in interview after interview as well as at cocktail
party after cocktail party.
I have no problems with Allende choosing to write a mystery.
This field is blessedly wide open and even more blessedly welcoming. My problem
is with the patronizing, contemptuous attitude she displays in this interview.
(Even sadder because her husband is a writer of crime fiction.) “I’m not a fan
of mysteries,” she says. And that’s fine. We all like different kinds of books.
But why then write one? If her agent was so panicked by her decision to retire
and she wanted to assuage that fear, why not write another of her own books?
What do you think about this phenomenon?
