Noir

By Robert Coover

Book Overview

A hallucinatory homage to the Dark City.

In Noir, the legendary master of postmodernism, Robert Coover, takes the hardboiled detective novel and turns it inside out.

Meet Philip M. Noir, a private eye who wanders through a cityscape of eternal rain, flickering neon, and endless dead ends. He is on a case--something about a widow, a corpse, and a mystery that seems to dissolve the moment he nears the truth. But in Coover's hands, the shadows don't just hide secrets; they shift the walls of reality.

As Noir navigates a labyrinth of femme fatales, crooked cops, and jazz-soaked dives, the tropes of the classic 1940s "Black Mask" era are stripped bare and reassembled into a surreal, rhythmic fever dream. It is a story where the mystery isn't just "whodunit," but whether the world itself--and the man investigating it--actually exists.

"Coover is one of our most playful and daring writers... a master of the linguistic funhouse." -- New York Times

Why You'll Love It:

Literary Craft: Experience the virtuosic prose of a Pen/Faulkner Award winner and a titan of American letters.Genre-Bending: A brilliant subversion of the Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett tradition.Atmospheric Immersion: Perfect for readers who love the stylized, rain-slicked aesthetics of Blade Runner or The Big Sleep.Experimental Mystery: A challenging, rewarding puzzle for fans of Thomas Pynchon and Paul Auster.

Step into the rain. The case is open, but the exit is nowhere to be found.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590202945
• ISBN13: 9781590202944
• Release Date: March 2010
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher