comment on Language and Meaning

Hans Olav Lahlum tells his novel “The Human Flies” in language that is simple and straightforward. This is done for at least three reasons. First, the novel follows in the tradition of classic mystery novels and their detectives, including the hardboiled detectives of the 1940s and 1950s who seek solutions primarily in action and legwork. Because the novel is told from the point of view of K2, who is in that tradition as a detective, it is only natural that he should be a man of few, simple, and straightforward words. (Patricia provides K2 with an invaluable asset by way of her brilliant mind, a throwback to earlier generations of detectives such as Sherlock Holmes. Together, K2 and Patricia form a modern team of detectives in which both hard evidence and legwork, and reason are needed to solve crimes.) Secondly, the uncomplicated language of the novel allows the reader to focus on the mystery, clues, and investigation themselves. Third, the simple and straightforward language creates a fast-paced sense of brevity as the eleven days of the novel speed by wherein K2 and Patricia race against the clock to catch the killer.