48 pages • 1 hour read
Case Histories: A Novel
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Essay Topics
The novel’s title, Case Histories, draws attention to the importance of the past. Each of the cases that Jackson investigates occurred long in the past, but still affect the present moment. Pick any three characters in the novel and analyze how the weight of their personal histories affects their present lives.
Atkinson chose a quote from the New Testament as the book’s epigraph: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Is this a fitting quote to begin the book? Why or why not? Which characters in the novel are “freed” by the truth?
While Case Histories is classified as a detective novel, it plays with and even subverts many rules of the genre. Do you think this is an effective strategy? Why or why not?
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By Kate Atkinson
