In "The Mystery to a Solution", John Irwin examines the deeper significance of the genre Poe created and the meaning of Borges's efforts to "double" its origin. Drawing on history, literary history, and practical and speculative criticism, Irwin pursues issues underlying the detective genre into areas as various as the history of mathematics, classical mythology, the double-mirror structure of self consciousness, the anthropology of Evans and Frazer, the structure of chess, automata, the mind-body problem, the etymology of labyrinth, and scores of other topics. Throughout his inquiry, Irwin honours the aesthetic impact on the genre he discusses by relying on the dynamics of the detective story - the uncovering of mysteries, the accumulation of evidence, the tracing of clues, and the final solution that ties it all together. Irwin's other books include "Doubling and Incest/Repetition and Revenge", "American Hieroglyphics" and "The Heisenberg Variations".
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"This is a fine book...Irwin has travelled far and profitably, indeed, into the history of chess, into geometry and algebra, into mythology, into alchemy, into the culture of labyrinths, and more besides."--John Sturrock, 'Times Literary Supplement' "[Irwin] has probed the labyrinthine depths principally of Poe and Borges, using the analytic tools of Jung, Lacan, and Derrida, and a score of other psychological interpreters of fiction...The result is dazzling."--Patrick H. Samway, 'America' "[A] learned, capacious, and ultimately amazing book."--'Virginia Quarterly Review' "John Irwin has written another wonderful book."--J. Hillis Miller "A masterful blend of literary criticism, philosophy, game theory, classical learning, the history of science, and the occult."--Eric J. Sundquist
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Illustrationen
7 s/w Photographien bzw. Rasterbilder
7 Halftones, black and white
Maße
Höhe: 229 mm
Breite: 152 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-4650-2 (9780801846502)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
John T. Irwin is Decker Professor of the Humanities at the Johns Hopkins University. A former editor of the 'Georgia Review', he now edits the series 'Johns Hopkins: Poetry and Fiction' for the Johns Hopkins University Press. His books include 'Doubling and Incest/Repetition and Revenge, The Heisenberg Variations,' and 'American Hieroglyphics', all available from Johns Hopkins.
