Zbrodnia w bibliotece albo Śledztwo w sprawie lektury: casus powieści detektywistycznej

Abstrakt

The crime in the library, or how to read a detective novel

Taking The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie as an example for analysis, the author of this article underlines that a common motif in detective stories are the intertextual and autothematic references to genre-specific rules. Their presence lends the experience of reading detective novels its own specific character. Therefore, the author of the text claims that the criminal intrigue can be considered as a representation of the very act of reading and interpretation. This proves that the main source of pleasure derived from reading detective novels is by no means the answer to the question of “who’s done it.” The greatest satisfaction in the act of reading is enjoyed by the reader in terms of creating and selecting various alternative scenarios and solutions, which is a defining characteristicof the experience of interpretation.