Citation

Stephan M. Engl. Stud. (Amst.) 2022; 103(6): 821-836.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0013838X.2022.2047351

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Through the lens of Australian author Nicole Watson's The Boundary this paper will consider the representation of the crime novel, both traditional detection (Christie, Doyle) and the modernist tradition, and how that illuminates social realities. Drawing from critical race theory, and examining the embedded logic of settler colonialism, the paper connects the form of the novel to Watson's social and legal critique, questioning of the liminality of the legal/illegal, ethical/unethical, and its framing. At stake in the novel is the preservation of an ethnic identity, an uncorrupted natural landscape, and faith in both a political and law enforcement system in which corruption and personal entanglements seem to play as great a role as ethics and integrity. At stake in the paper is how the novel can intervene in social and political debates on Aboriginal, racial, and ethical terms, preserving both personal identity and its contingent effects in protecting the land.

Language: en

Keywords

aboriginal studies; Australian literature; Crime fiction; critical race theory; magical realism; terra nullius