The Mysterious Romance of Murder, David Lehman
The Mysterious Romance of Murder, David Lehman
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The Mysterious Romance of Murder
Crime, Detection, and the Spirit of Noir

Author: David Lehman

Narrator: Stephen Bowlby

Unabridged: 8 hr 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/18/2022

Synopsis

Why do we keep returning to Agatha Christie's ingenious puzzles and Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled murder mysteries? What do spy thrillers teach us, and what accounts for the renewed popularity of morally ambiguous noirs? In The Mysterious Romance of Murder, the poet and critic David Lehman explores a wide variety of outstanding books and movies—some famous (The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity), some known mainly to aficionados—with style, wit, and passion.

Lehman revisits the smoke-filled jazz clubs from the classic noir films of the 1940s, the iconic set pieces that defined Hitchcock's America, the interwar intrigue of Eric Ambler's best fictions, and the intensity of attraction between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. He also considers the evocative elements of noir—cigarettes, cocktails, wisecracks, and jazz standards—and offers five original noir poems (including a pantoum inspired by the 1944 film Laura) and ironic astrological profiles of Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich, and Graham Greene. Written by a connoisseur with an uncanny feel for the language and mood of mystery, espionage, and noir, The Mysterious Romance of Murder will delight fans of the genre and newcomers alike.

About David Lehman

David Lehman is a poet and writer whose many books include The Morning Line, Sinatra's Century, and One Hundred Autobiographies. He is the editor of The Oxford Book of American Poetry and The Best American Poetry series. He divides his time between Ithaca, and New York City.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Literary on March 27, 2022

THE MYSTERIOUS ROMANCE OF MURDER by David Lehman Cornell University Press Pub Date: May 15 David Lehman takes an elegant look at all things noir in films, books, TV, and culture in The Mysterious Romance of Murder. There's a language, style, cynicism, and hipness that pervade noir, whether on the printe......more

Goodreads review by Bandit on December 17, 2021

I’m delighted to be the first person to read and review this book. For noir lovers this is a treasure trove. I love movies. I love watching them, talking about them, I review some of them on my blog. There’s a universal appeal to movies that books (my other love) don’t quite hit. And what’s more, th......more

Goodreads review by Jeanna on May 22, 2022

I loved this book. Being a fan of noir films and books this was a must read. The detail put into this book about the processes of these stories was fantastic. Breaking down this style of story into genres and their sub genres was really educational. As someone who loves this genre I felt very overwh......more

Goodreads review by Ashlyn on January 06, 2022

At the very least, “The Mysterious Romance of Murder” is a go-to recommendation list of murder mystery-esque books and movies to sit on your coffee table and impress your friends. At the most, it’s a brilliant synthesis of what humanity loves most about murder stories. Either way, this book is a win......more

Goodreads review by Joe on March 24, 2023

I really enjoyed the first third of Lehman’s exploration of noir, however, from that point it seems to lose the thread, and fails to deliver on the promise of its title and premise. At that point it becomes instead, a collection of poetry, essays and profiles (many of which seem to have been previou......more

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