Perspectives

The story “Don’t You Hate Having Two Heads?” by Christine Poulson belongs to the crime fiction genre, so it is important to correlate it with similar literary works, as well as with the literary movement and with the current issues it addresses.

Works in the same genre

When it comes to crime fiction, two important authors should be mentioned.

First, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote crime fiction usually focused on the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. You can read, for instance, the short story “The Red-Headed League” or “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Doyle. In the first story, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes investigates what seems to be a prank in which a simple man unwillingly gets involved. In the second story, Holmes investigates an attempted murder and the legend of a mystical hound.

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Works with the same theme

To better understand crime fiction, we recommend you read two short stories that share themes with Christine Paulson’s story. First, the story “The Good Samaritan” by Charles Ardai (Crime in Fiction, pp. 85) presents an unnamed detective trying to solve a series of crimes that happen in New York. The victims are homeless people or prostitutes, an element which makes the detective’s job even more difficult. Ardai’s story explores the theme of murder, but also the theme of appearances, as the murderer’s purpose is apparently a noble one, at least in his head:

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Also, here we discuss the literary period and current issues.