From Minor Literature to Neoliberal Noir: The Detective Novels of Sergej Verč

Abstract

"In this article, we analyze the politics of representation in the detective tetralogy (1991- 2009) of the late Slovenian and Triestinian writer Sergej Verč. Addressing several aspects of Verč’s primary literary semiotic device of schizophrenia, we trace a simultaneous literary and chronological shift from minor literature to neoliberal noir. We expose the fundamental representational ambiguity by analyzing the detective triad (murder-victim-criminal), the fetishization of detective clues, the erotization of detection, and the underlying binary oppositions. Verč’s detective novels critique the Slovenian capitalist transition but also reproduce culturally conservative representations of gender, sexuality, and family."