Murder isn’t what it used to be. The community is invited to explore the shifting role of the victim in detective novels, and how that shift reflects broader social changes. Bellingham City Club features special guest speaker & author Matthew Sullivan of the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau at their Wednesday, February 22nd online program at 12 noon. Early reservations are recommended at https://bhamcityclub.wildapricot.org/event-5160710/registration.
From Poe and Sherlock Homes to British cozies and Hardboiled pulps, author Matthew Sullivan traces the many influences on the postwar and modern eras of the mystery genre and shows how empathy plays a unique role in contemporary crime novels—especially in today’s literary mysteries. Jess Walter’s The Cold Millions, the Whatcom Reads novel, is one of the books Sullivan will discuss.
What does the way crime victims are portrayed say about a society’s culture? Join Sullivan to reflect on the special relationship between reading literature and experiencing empathy—on the page and in our daily lives.
Matthew Sullivan (he/him) is the author of the novel Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, which was an IndieNext pick, a Barnes & Noble Discover pick, and winner of the Colorado Book Award. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times, Daily Beast, Spokesman-Review, Sou’wester, and elsewhere. He is currently a writing teacher and is working on a crime novel set in Soap Lake.
Bellingham City Club’s mission is to inform, connect, and engage our community to strengthen the civic health of our region. Membership is open to all who support our mission and involves modest annual dues to pay speaker expenses and support operations. More information is available at bellinghamcityclub.org.
