Whodunit? The appreciation of the “literary crime novel”
Since the beginning of the new millennium a new prose genre has gained much popularity in the Netherlands: the literaire thriller (‘literary crime novel’). The question that puzzles many is whether this is really a new genre that in terms of literariness outranks other crime novels, or that we should speak of a clever marketing strategy. Furthermore, some professional readers doubt the literary quality of the novels. Are we dealing with women’s suspense, “chick lit for well-educated blondies”, or with actual Literature? In other words, to what extent do these particular crime novels deserve the adjective ‘literary’? On November the 19th I shall elaborate on this question by shedding light on the appreciation and value of the literaire thriller during the annual Siegenbeeklezing (‘Siegenbeek Lecture’) at the University of Leiden. This lecture will be in Dutch.
For the website of the Siegenbeek Alumni Association, click here
When: Tuesday, November 19th 2013
Where: Snouck Hurgronjehuis, Rapenburg 61, Leiden
The doors open at 19:30 and the lecture starts at 20:00
Admission: free of charge for members of the Siegenbeek Alumni Association and students, € 5,- for other interested
Registration: siegenbeek@gmail.com