What is it about?
One of the comforting ways of dealing with the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has brought was reading. It seems hardly surprising that the British turned to crime fiction, which they not only avidly consume but also successfully produce. This article suggests that it is the oft-criticised basic mystery formula that offers the greatest comfort during such challenging times.
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Why is it important?
The 2020 data on pandemic reading – library lending and bookshop buying – and readers’ experiences demonstrate that there are moments when classic detective fiction with its orderly world is needed. While we should examine crime fiction's reflective nature, we should forget the escapist allure of its formulaic roots.
Perspectives
A few reactions to this article confirmed that similar processes were happening in my country, too. Interestingly, some crime fiction readers felt uneasy about their turn to genre literature, which seems to suggest a need for more similar research.
Dr. Lucyna Krawczyk-Żywko
University of Warsaw
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Comfort of Crime: The Appeal of Formulaic Fiction during the Pandemic, Litteraria Copernicana, October 2021, Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika/Nicolaus Copernicus University,
DOI: 10.12775/lc.2021.022.
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