I have been reading Montalbano's First Case And Other Stories, (2016) Andrea Camilleri's collection of tales about a Sicilian police officer. I've enjoyed it a lot but there is one that I want to discuss. I suppose I should issue a spoiler alert but since the surprise is mentioned on the back cover I won't feel too guilty.
One of the stories stands out from the others because it is much bleaker in subject than the rest. It shocked me and I was not the only one because Salvo Montalbano stops everything and makes a phone call to a "seventyish man striking the keys of a typewriter in the Roman night."
The author informs his character "I'm just trying to bring myself up to date, Salvo. A little blood on the page never hurt anyone."
That's called breaking the fourth wall: characters acknowledging that they are indeed characters.
Since then I have been trying to think of other examples in mystery fiction. I think the most famous occasion comes in John Dickson Carr's novel The Hollow Man (1935) when his detective Dr. Gideon Fell provides "The Locked Room Lecture." While listing every possible variation on the impossible crime the good doctor explains "we are in a detective story and we don't fool the reader by pretending we're not. Let's not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let's candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to a character in a book."
I did a web search looking for more examples and most of what I found were something different than I was thinking, namely examples of authors writing themselves into their books as characters. Examples include S.S, Van Dine, Kinky Friedman, and Anthony Horowitz.
But getting back to the self-aware characters, Edmund Crispin's detective is Gervase Fen. In The Moving Toyshop (1946) when he seems to be announcing random phrases he explains that he "was making up titles for Crispin."
The newsletter of the Private Eye Writers of America, Reflections in a Private Eye, often features authors interviewing their own characters.
And I have had a few out-of-story chats with my character Shanks.
But how do you feel about characters, especially series characters, admitting they know what's going on? Does it damage the suspension of disbelief?
Robert, this is timely! First, you are talking about my favourite series, Montalbano. I still weep knowing that there won't be any more Andrea Camilleri books. Second, I recently interviewed Australian author Benjamin Stevenson at Centennial Theatre - have you read his book, Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone? He breaks the 4th wall constantly, and talks directly to the reader. It's his 'thing'. Some like it, some don't. An example would be, from one of his books, "By now, you're thinking John Doe is the killer. But you're wrong." Then he goes on to explain why you're wrong. I personally wasn't keen on being told what to think, but I do recommend looking at the unique style he is using.
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