Marele Days Novel, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender...

Witty, wryly humorous and fast-paced, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender is a thriller with a twist which brilliantly evokes the sleaze below the surface of the citys glittering faade. Is this what the novel is about? Marele Days novel, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender explores a large scope of issues related to crime and mystery writing. The use of simple language, symbolism, clever wit and a certain sense of satirical mockery all contribute to composing this witty, wryly humorous and fast paced novel. Through the way in which Day portrays the protagonist, Claudia Valentine, she challenges the stereotypes and ideas set in the readers minds, in relation to gender issues. Day also succeeds to ruthlessly unmask†¦show more content†¦She shows a female character doing what previously only men had done; directly committing herself to the criminal underworld, walking dangerous streets at night, boldly trespassing into perilous areas and defending herself- all the things that only men would do in conventional versions of the genre. On the very first page, Day introduces this concept of ironic mockery by creating confusion as to the gender of the character. A tough voice that fills the requirements of hard-boiled school men is established, and only after turning the page does the reader realize that the terribly hung-over narrator is a female private-eye and the blonde in the bed is a good-looking male. The novel is set in Sydney. Day represents the city form two different views. One is Claudias safe, sheltered Sydneyof innocent childhood, Cars sat in the sun silently absorbing the heat, reminding me of childhood summers. Days at the beach and before you went home all the doors of the car would be flung open and the heat that rushed out nearly knocked you over. The reader soon discovers it to simply be a faade that blinds us from seeing the seedy, savage and corrupted undertones of a world which very few are aware of. This other side is associated with Harry Lavender, who is slowly infiltrating all of society like cancer slowly invades a healthy human body. On several occasions Claudia reinforces theShow MoreRelatedModule a Clemmance - Distinctive Voices Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender1687 Words   |  7 Pagesvoices are created in ‘The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender’ and in ONE other related text of your own choosing. As language lies at the core of communication, composers are given the opportunity to use and manipulate written language through the vehicle of distinctive voicesshaping meaning and understanding of the wider world and people within a text. A great range of language techniques are used in my prescribed text, the novel ‘The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender’ by Marele Day and my related textRead MoreCrime Fiction Essay1872 Words   |  8 Pagesthe genre of crime writing covers a wide diversity of texts, these texts all engage with investigating a crime and associated social and moral issues. Evaluate this statement. Although the crime-writing genre consists of a wide array of subgenres and hybrids, these texts all focus on a criminal investigation using this as a platform/vehicle to explore and comment on the values and the social context in which it was composed. In doing so, crime fiction texts do not just tell a crime story; they make