Noir

While comically ramping up the mysterious circumstances that surround "The Case of the Vanishing Black Widow," postmodern writer Robert Coover deconstructs the crime fiction genre in his aptly titled latest novel, Noir. Coover cool-handedly tells the story from the second person, as the hard-boiled gumshoe, and appropriately named, Philip M. Noir, sets out to solve the case by finding a man named Mr. Big. Along the way, Noir crosses paths with characters such as "Fingers" and "Cueball," all of whom have personal connections with Noir, in one way or another, and end up playing various roles in the unfolding case. Coover is at his fantastical best when he interrupts the otherwise fast-paced tempo with anecdotes and flashbacks from each character's life, transforming the otherwise archetypical thugs and whores into grotesque and palpably complex players. As dead bodies pile up, and the plot plays itself out, Investigator Noir's initial confusion morphs into a hilarious state of delusion, which leads to a sly, satisfyingly subversive conclusion. Noir is a work of high-minded high jinks, at once cringe-worthy and hilarious, and in the end quite impressive.