Laurie R. King's website
The Art of Detection
Kate Martinelli's World
LRK on Kate Martinelli:
In 1993, when A Grave Talent was published, it was easy to imagine a lesbian cop in the closet. In 2006, in the world of The Art of Detection, that same cop would have to be provided with deep neuroses to explain why she remained behind the closet door. Part of the pleasure of the Martinelli series, I think, lies in this arc of social and personal freedom: The rainbow family life depicted in The Art of Detection would have seemed a romanticized idyll in 1993; on 2006, gay men with adopted daughters and lesbians on the school board are just daily life in the City by the Bay.
Similarly, in 1993, there was no woman homicide detective in the SFPD. In 2006, there are two.
Such extreme changes, such a sudden gust of fresh, wholesome air, permeates The Art of Detection. Events in the historical portions of the novel take place in 1924, but those living in San Francisco seventy years later would have found many of the attitudes all too familiar. It is only those who are born into The City today who have the chance to look at Kate Martinelli’s earlier self and shake their heads in wonder.
San Francisco NeighborhoodsLRK on Feminism
LRK on Why the Mystery?
The whole genre question is further complicated by the undeniable fact that a great deal of crime fiction is simply pap, predigested and undemanding, suitable for the reader who either lacks the inner fortitude necessary for tackling something with fiber (moral or otherwise) or who simply doesn’t feel like chewing his or her way through something substantial after a hard day’s work. ...
So why the mystery? Because it is a strong form that nonetheless allows me to do what I wish with it, possessing both rigid structure and immense freedom. On its bones I can hang a story about things that matter, about death and pain and the dark side of the human mind, about fear and triumph and joy and the price we pay for justice. A story about the full gamut of human response.
The mystery novel, because the form is as big as I need it to be, and as intimate.
The mystery, because it’s human.
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Violated Assumptions List 6 – The Art of Detection
I find it incredibly difficult to write about violated assumptions from reading a fictional novel, despite the fact that the novel is charged with contemporary queer issues. However, I will do my best to make observations and comments in the spirit of the assignment.
On a very unrelated-to-class topic, on p. 114 I was struck by a narrative description of Ian Nicholson. “During this monologue, which could have been a sign of nerves at the presence of the police or merely the genetic effusiveness of a redhead…” I think the comment about redheads was meant playfully and humorously, but it startled me as potentially offensive. Prior to a sociology class and readings on deviance, I had not even been aware of stereotypes about redheads. After this discovery, I questioned some of the redheads I know to find that they have, in fact, been subjects of such stereotypes. They were also bothered by them. So I guess it surprised me that an author sensitive to marginalized people would play on the stereotype. As well, I suppose I am more sensitive to the stereotype since learning of its impact. (Sorry – I know this is going to strike people as trivial)
I think for some, the realization that queer issues (transgenderism, homosexuality, marriage, etc.) were present in the 1920s may have been a violated assumption – or at least a surprise. Of course these issues existed then – but I suppose we tend to think about them as contemporary issues since they only now receive so much public attention. I think people look back on the past and see a more conservative time where queer folks wouldn’t even consider trying to get married.
I find it interesting that the lesbian cop and her family are very “normalized”. With much of our reading this semester, we are realizing as a class that there are a lot of queer individuals who resist heteronormative, nuclear families and the normalization of gay life. Gay marriage becoming legal in the last chapter and everyone’s participation in seemed slightly jarring juxtaposed to our recent readings. I think perhaps this serves the purpose of creating a wider audience for King’s novels. It introduces “uncommon” ideas to a straight world in a palatable form. It becomes more acceptable because it’s relatable. (They’re just like us).
On LRK’s website, she describes her beginnings with Kate Martinelli in terms that the character would be a “great woman artist”. This surprises me because I did not interpret Kate as an artist (even in loose interpretations of “artist”). I suppose there is definitely an art to crime solving (The Art of Detection), but I would not have come to describe it that way on my own.
First of all, and probably most obvious, I was surprised not that the main character was a lesbian, but that it portrayed as “normal “within the story. That is to say, I was expecting that it would be discussed more, maybe even be one of the main plot points, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it was presented. Upon further research, I found out that Kate evolved and was closeted in earlier books, and I like that her evolution is just as important as the murder mysteries that she solves. I can see why it is a series instead of just one book- if it was one book, it may have had to focus more on her story, and that is not the point of the novel. It may be one of the points of the series, but within the novel her character is very accepted and seen just like anyone else within the society.
As the first novel I have read with an LGBT narrator, I was surprised that it was a mystery novel. I was surprised, again, because I had assumed that the character’s life would be the main story line of the story, and instead the murder mystery remained in the forefront. Mystery novels appeal to a certain niche, and I was expecting a more mainstream genre. The genre is very puzzling, but I can see why, again, she chose mystery. It provides an interesting backdrop for the evolution of a woman within an entirely fictional realm.
The format of the mystery had many layers, which also violated some assumptions. I usually read mysteries where there are only one or two plotlines, and one time. The constant back and forth-ness of the novel reminded me of the article “ Queer Time” that we discussed in an earlier class. I was also surprised that sexuality seemed fluid within the manuscript as well, as a character thought that Doyle was pursuing him, and although he was married he gave him a sultry look.
Lastly for this novel, while it was nice to see a portrayal of people who go against norms in society, Kate’s family structure seemed very normal within the fictional realm. It surprised me, because I don’t know whether alternative families would want to be normalized, if they would want to be invisible within the dominant culture. I would have expected more reactions from her co-workers and the community, but it was refreshing for it to be so under to radar and relaxed.
The Art of Detection was a good mystery story with a twist. It was a little hard to write violated assumption. Overall the novel was a good and interesting read. I really did not know what to expect from it. I hadn’t really read any Laurie King novels. However, while reading the story I could perfectly envision the senses , like the park, and the style of the homes, because I’ve lived in San Francisco before.
I guess I wasn’t expecting a lot of the characters to be gay and lesbian, but it would make sense since we are reading it specifically for this class.
I was a little thrown off by Gilbert because he was obsessed with Sherlock Holmes, so I had made a preassumption that he was gay, but then he had a wife. But then his wife admitted that he was indeed gay.
I noticed that Kate seemed to lead a very normal life, the book did not seem to make a big deal of it.
I was not expecting Ian Nicholson to turn out to be Gilberts ex lover. Nicholson seemed so nonchalant about the entire situation when the police called him.
Violated Assumptions for The Art of Detection:
1. I was surprised to see the word Partner for the first time. I assumed that partner meant significant other, than I checked myself and thought that it meant working partner, then I clarified that it meant significant other. Usually I see some sort of clarifier with partner I think. I also assumed that mysteries were not queer I think.
2. The time periods of the novel surprised me. Having the victim with a webcam felt odd in the story. I keep thinking of mysteries as being in an older time period.
3. I assumed that it wouldn't fluctuate between time periods or put the manuscript into the piece. It was a little awkward to read.
4. I assumed that in descriptions of characters that the author wouldn't say that they were gay. IT stuck out to me, especially with the nonchalant manner that other gay characters were introduced with little fanfare or attention given.
1. I thought it was interesting that King choose to make the character that was murdered (Gilbert) be married but you find out later that he secretly had same sex relationships. I think this was an important twist on sexuality.
2. I thought it was interesting that King included a historical aspect of queer issues in the 1920s by providing a manuscript from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writing of Sherlock Holmes. The manuscript discusses a number of queer issues of the time. I was somewhat surprised by the inclusion of queer histories, but I found it very interesting. I was glad to see it. I have taken a number of LGBT studies classes where these issues have been brought up so I was not entirely shocked by what I read.
3. I was surprised by the author’s “normalizing” of the sex/gender binary behaviors.
4. I thought it was interesting that King included a past male lover of Kate’s. I think that this brings up many issues within in the LGB community about how past opposite sex relationships are handled.
5. Despite the fact that this book in many ways remained quite “queer” in terms of sexuality, I was surprised that Kate’s family was so heteronormative. I’m not sure if the King had a purpose in making Kate’s family this way; whether it was to “normalize” lesbian relationships, or possibly something else.
Violated Assumptions #6
1. I was surprised and disappointed to see King using heteronormative ideas about gender and sex in her book, like when one of the characters suggests that it is genetic for male children to make every toy a weapon, and the main character agrees.
2. I was surprised and amused when King inserted an unexpected and somewhat unnecessary moment allowing Kate’s sexuality to show through, when the text describes Kate following “the woman’s nice muscular backside” into a house while she is interviewing her about the victim on page 61.
3. I was surprised at the amount of incidental gay or queer-seeming characters. For instance, already on page 2 you’re meeting a woman with “fifteen earrings and bleached-blond hair a quarter of an inch long.” While this of course actually means nothing about the character’s sexuality, the author must have been aware that this description would immediately ring some “gaydar” bells for her queer readership.
4. I thought Kate’s thoughts on her radical feminist activist friends were interesting; I thought it was a rarely-voiced perspective to hear a gay but more conservative viewpoint on social activism. Kate is gay, but she’s also a cop, and she doesn’t like what she calls nearly “felonious” activities.
Violated Assumptions # 6
1) I thought it ws really initersting to see how heternornative Kate's family was portrayes as. Iguess becuase i walked into the book knowing that the main character was a lesbian, I kind of assumed that she would be more radical. Because I haven't read any other books in the series, i don't know if her home life has always been so "normal" or if at one point she and her partnet were more radical in their interactions in the community or in their relationship.
2) Because I knew before reading the book that the central character was a lesbian, i was surprised by how little it was talked about in the book. It was just kind of grazed over like it was an everyday occurance to a a wman lesbian detective back in the day. While I read online that her identity used to be more central to the plot, I would have like to read something where more of her struggle with her self/relationship was talked about.
3) Since i don't have any basis for comparison, i don't know if Kate has evolved to be nocholant with how she talks about gay character or if this also used to be something that was more talked about. I would be curious to see how these same characters would have been described while Kate was struggling with still being closeted.
4) The most obvious violated assumption I had was Gilbert. I initailly read his as gay but then we found out he had a wife. But then his wife confirmed that he was indeed gay. I kind of like this plot twist because it added another dimension to the question of sexuality and identity.
Violated Assumptions List #6
1. I was surprised that the Conan Doyle manuscript was so long. I had expected something a few pages long, instead of an entire short story located inside of a novel. I had assumed that novels wouldn’t contain a sizeable story within them, but now that I think about it, there’s no reason why King shouldn’t experiment with the traditional format of a novel.
2. I was surprised that the short story included gay men and cross-dressing singers. I knew that the story would be LGBT related, but I assumed that “LGBT-ness” of the book would only be because the main character being a lesbian.
3. Similarly, I assumed that the Sherlock story itself would be devoid of any LGBT issues. This is based on my erroneous idea that in the 1920s, LGBT individuals were so closeted that they wouldn’t bear mention in the short story. But, from this class, I learned that the past was more liberal than most perceived it to be, it is simply that history has been re-written, or perhaps, “straight-washed” so that we can’t imagine things were ever different.
4. I was also surprised by how much information there was regarding San Francisco and the areas around it, such as the Presidio. I hadn’t expected the landscape to take such a large part in the novel, once again because of my assumptions regarding what a novel should be like (i.e. centered around characters and plot). However, it was really great to read because I spent 2 weeks volunteering in the Presidio and I’ve been to SF twice, so a lot of what was written was really familiar.
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