Written in the tradition of Umberto Eco and Manuel Puig, The Pagan Wall is a first novel by a master storyteller. What appears on the surface as a murder mystery set in Alsatia and the Rhineland, involving international arms dealers, dangerous liaisons, and every other known mystery novel archetype, The Pagan Wall unfolds into layer upon layer of meanings, reversals, historical shifts, philosophical conundrums and linguistic puzzles. Filled with police inspectors quoting Lacan, the appearance of Martin Heidegger as a character, and whole passages of translated epistemology woven into the dialogue, Arnason’s narrative disguises are so seamlessly accomplished that all readers, whether ardent mystery genre fans or exotic deconstructionists, will believe this story to be specifically written for them.

David Arnason was born in Gimli, Manitoba, in 1940. He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Manitoba and a PhD from the University of New Brunswick. He divides his time between Winnipeg, where he teaches Canadian literature and creative writing at the University of Manitoba, and Gimli, where he does most of his writing. He has also taught Canadian literature and creative writing in Tasmania, Trier, and Strasbourg.His works include two collections of poetry, Marsh Burning and Skrag, and four collections of short stories: Fifty Stories and a Piece of Advice, The Circus Performer’s Bar, The Happiest Man in the World, and The Pagan Wall.

David Arnason's profile page

“If this is the overture, you can’t even imagine what he may eventually do for a finale.” — John Moore