Friday's Forgotten Books - The Ethnic Detectives

Can you tell I stopped for a while in the anthology section of the public library recently? Following last week's anthology Speaking of Murder, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg, I have another to add to this week's installment of Friday's Forgotten Books, The Ethnic Detectives, edited by Greenberg and Bill Pronzini.

Obviously, the editors had to determine how exactly to define "ethnic" for inclusion in this book. In the introduction, they say that such a distinction isn't all that simple and point out how in one sense, even Edgar Allan Poe's C. August Dupin qualifies. The principal definition is that the sleuth is a member of a minority group within a dominant culture, and whose mannerisms, world view, and approach reflect upon his background.

The reasons for writing such a character are many and varied, but as Greenberg and Pronzini point out, "These are particularly interesting characters because their adventures frequently concern problems of identity, of the search for one's roots, and of reconciling different heritages — problems that are the stuff of emotion and high drama." And, as the editors ultimately conclude, "Vive le roman policier! Vive la difference!"

This particular group of stories were chosen to represent different ethnic groups, without duplications. Thus, we have one each of the Chinese detective (Judge Dee by Robert van Gulik); one of a couple of different Native American tribal detectives (David Return by Manly Wade Wellman and also Tony Hillerman, mentioned below); the Czechoslovakian detective (Dr. Jan Czissar by Eric Ambler); the Filipino detective (Jo Gar by Raoul Whitfield) and so forth. Most of these authors will be new to the majority of crime fiction readers, with only a handful well-known, such as Georges Simenon (Inspector Maigret), Tony Hillerman (Jim Chee), and Marcia Muller (Elena Oliverez).

Reading the book is something akin to eating at an international food fair, with little tastings that may satisfy, but leave you wanting more. The most effective stories are those from the authors who have lived the longest with their characters, primarily Hillerman and his Navajo Corporal, Jim Chee, and for the most intense banquet of all, a novella-length story from Ed McBain featuring the various multi-cultural detectives of his 87th Precinct series the author featured in dozens of novels and stories.

The Ethnic Detectives is a fascinating look at the various ways writers slip into worlds not their own and try to create fiction that conveys the spirit of people who live there. Like most such efforts, some of these attempts are successful, others a little less so. But it's an easy way to travel around the world vicariously and be pleasantly entertained at the same time.

Comments

[Patti Abbott]

Great concept!

[George Kelley]

I've never seen this book before. I'll be searching for it today. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Todd Mason]

I've read this one, but I made a point of reading all the Pronzini anthologies I could find, and still do. Manly Wade Wellman did better work, but these were fine examples of what he could do...and it is, indeed, everything you suggest. If Pronzini has produced a pedestrian antho yet, I'm not aware of it.

[Todd Mason]

Really, though, you think most cf readers don't know these folks at all? But, then, so many of the novelists, particularly the newer ones, are still unread by me.

[BV Lawson]

When I think of a typical mystery novel reader, I think of my mother, who has been reading mysteries for decades, and unfortunately, she probably wouldn't know most of the authors included in this anthology. I think it's a shame, and I try to get her to broaden her horizons a little bit, but everyone has subjective tastes, and that's OK, too. At least she's still buying books!

[BV Lawson]

You may have some difficulty finding the book, George, although I saw a few used copies on Amazon. I'm just glad my local library has a nice-sized crime fiction collection. Of course, if everything were digitized...

[Paul D. Brazill]

Weird idea! I remember the Judge Dee tv series when I was a young person.

[Martin Edwards]

Sounds like it's worth tracking down.