Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean

Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean

This article explores the insights that crime fiction offers on state formation and democratic governance in modern Greece and Egypt. Despite differing historical paths after centuries of Ottoman rule, both nations experienced periods of democratic renegotiation alongside advancements in education a...

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Bibliografski detalji
Izdano u:URI:https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor,
Glavni autor: Parolin, Gianluca
Format: Article ou chapitre numérique
Jezik:Anglais
Izdano: Belphégor 2025
Teme:
crime fiction
Greece
democracy
modern state
Egypt
Grèce
roman policier
démocratie
état
Égypte
Online pristup:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
id openedition-oai:revues.org:belphegor_7489
record_format openedition
spelling openedition-oai:revues.org:belphegor_7489 https://doi.org/10.4000/15ch9 urn:doi:10.4000/15ch9 en https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/7489 2025-12-14T01:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/15ch9 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean Belphégor LPCM info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1499-7185 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor Parolin, Gianluca crime fiction Greece democracy modern state Egypt Grèce roman policier démocratie état Égypte This article explores the insights that crime fiction offers on state formation and democratic governance in modern Greece and Egypt. Despite differing historical paths after centuries of Ottoman rule, both nations experienced periods of democratic renegotiation alongside advancements in education and the press, which have been identified as factors facilitating the emergence of crime fiction. In the Interwar period, Greek author Nirvanas and Egyptian author al-Ḥakīm vernacularised the globally dominant genre in their works to critique the modern state’s failures, particularly its inability to ensure law and order. Their novels – Nirvanas’s Έγκλημα and al-Ḥakīm’s Yawmiyyāt – utilised parody to challenge the prevailing narrative of the modern state. The analysis suggests examining the role of the educated/effendiyya class, to which both authors belonged, in upholding the state and critiquing its malfunctioning. Ultimately, early works of crime fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean offer a poignant critique of state power and its ability to deliver on its promises. Cet article explore les perspectives que le roman policier offre sur la formation de l’État et la gouvernance démocratique dans la Grèce et l’Égypte modernes. Malgré des parcours historiques différents après des siècles de domination ottomane, les deux nations ont connu des périodes de renégociation démocratique ainsi que des progrès dans les domaines de l’éducation et de la presse, qui ont été identifiés comme des facteurs facilitant l’émergence du roman policier. Dans l’entre-deux-guerres, les auteurs grec Nirvanas et égyptien al-Ḥakīm ont vernacularisé le genre dominant à l’échelle mondiale dans leurs œuvres pour critiquer les échecs de l’État moderne, en particulier son incapacité à garantir l’ordre public. Leurs romans – Έγκλημα de Nirvanas et Yawmiyyāt d’al-Ḥakīm – utilisent la parodie pour remettre en question le récit dominant de l’État moderne. L’analyse suggère d’examiner le rôle de la classe éduquée/effendiyya, à laquelle appartenaient les deux auteurs, dans le maintien de l’État et la critique de ses dysfonctionnements. En fin de compte, les premières œuvres de fiction policière en Méditerranée orientale offrent une critique poignante du pouvoir de l’État et de sa capacité à tenir ses promesses.
collection OpenEdition Journal
language Anglais
format Article ou chapitre numérique
building 0/Bibliothèque numérique/
1/Bibliothèque numérique/OpenEdition Journals/
topic crime fiction
Greece
democracy
modern state
Egypt
Grèce
roman policier
démocratie
état
Égypte
spellingShingle crime fiction
Greece
democracy
modern state
Egypt
Grèce
roman policier
démocratie
état
Égypte
Parolin, Gianluca
Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
description This article explores the insights that crime fiction offers on state formation and democratic governance in modern Greece and Egypt. Despite differing historical paths after centuries of Ottoman rule, both nations experienced periods of democratic renegotiation alongside advancements in education and the press, which have been identified as factors facilitating the emergence of crime fiction. In the Interwar period, Greek author Nirvanas and Egyptian author al-Ḥakīm vernacularised the globally dominant genre in their works to critique the modern state’s failures, particularly its inability to ensure law and order. Their novels – Nirvanas’s Έγκλημα and al-Ḥakīm’s Yawmiyyāt – utilised parody to challenge the prevailing narrative of the modern state. The analysis suggests examining the role of the educated/effendiyya class, to which both authors belonged, in upholding the state and critiquing its malfunctioning. Ultimately, early works of crime fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean offer a poignant critique of state power and its ability to deliver on its promises.
author Parolin, Gianluca
author_facet Parolin, Gianluca
author_sort Parolin, Gianluca
title Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
title_short Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
title_full Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
title_fullStr Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
title_full_unstemmed Don’t Try This at Home: Interwar Parodies of Crime Fiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
title_sort don’t try this at home: interwar parodies of crime fiction in the eastern mediterranean
publisher Belphégor
publishDate 2025
container_title URI:https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor
url https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/15ch9
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/belphegor/7489
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