Luminol Theory
When human blood reacts with luminol, it lights up a ghostly blue. This reaction, most commonly used to detect whether violence has taken place at suspected crime scenes, combines the human and the chemical, it invokes violence but also transformation.
Luminol Theory is a book of literary theory so elegant that it reads like poetry. As anyone who watches crime television might already know, luminol is a substance that emits an eerie glow when it comes in contact with human blood. Joyce suggests that we might approach literature like a crime scene. Even if you’re not accustomed to reading literary theory, you’ll be drawn in by Joyce’s beautiful prose and unusual ideas. This book will forever change how you read about violence.’ Nicola Maye Goldberg at Crimereads