From Minor Literature to Neoliberal Noir: The Detective Novels of Sergej Verc
From Minor Literature to Neoliberal Noir: The Detective Novels of Sergej Verc
Author(s): Primož MlačnikSubject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Cultural history, Slovenian Literature, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Universitatea Babeş-Bolyai
Keywords: Slovenian Literature; Sergej Verč; Minor Literature; Neoliberal Noir; Trieste; De(mythologization); Schizophrenia; Politics of Representation; Detective Novels; Critique of Capitalism;
Summary/Abstract: In this article, we analyze the politics of representation in the detective tetralogy (1991- 2009) of the late Slovenian and Triestinian writer Sergej Verč. Addressing several aspects of Verč’s primary literary semiotic device of schizophrenia, we trace a simultaneous literary and chronological shift from minor literature to neoliberal noir. We expose the fundamental representational ambiguity by analyzing the detective triad (murder-victim-criminal), the fetishization of detective clues, the erotization of detection, and the underlying binary oppositions. Verč’s detective novels critique the Slovenian capitalist transition but also reproduce culturally conservative representations of gender, sexuality, and family.
Journal: Caietele Echinox
- Issue Year: 2022
- Issue No: 43
- Page Range: 77-92
- Page Count: 16
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF