My website TarvinLit, which has concentrated on analysis of major works of American and British literature, has a new addition, my novel, The Mysterious Plus. You can access it by clicking the link above.

       I hope the c. 40,000 visitors to my site, who have told me that they have found my literary analyses valuable, will find my novel both entertaining and illuminating.

       The Mysterious Plus is a murder mystery set in exotic Algiers and its fabled Casbah. Its title is taken from the American philosopher William James.

       The novel uses the Algerian setting to examine the contemporary materialistic and spiritual differences between the Muslim Middle East and the Judeo-Christian West, fanatic-inflamed divisions which are fraying the cords that bind humanity.

       As part of my novel's philosophical approach, it examines many aspects of Islamic culture of which Western readers may be unaware. Additionally, The Mysterious Plus is structured on the sin-repentance-redemption pattern employed in Dante's Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost.

       Thus while my novel incorporates the murder-clues-solution formula, it adds a philosophical and literary texture to the typical "who-done-it" novel.

       My website TarvinLit will continue to offer literary explications culled from lectures and handouts which I developed during my thirty-five years of teaching literature at the university level and from my publications in scholarly books and journal.

       These American and British literature links of my website analyze around two hundred writers and six hundred works. I have been very pleased by the comments of students, teachers, and teaching assistants, who have written that my analyses have helped them in their classes. (By the way, other of my literary analyses are now on the TeachersPayTeachers site for a small fee.)

       Any scholar is free to use the handouts. However, since the materials are copyrighted, I ask that no one repost them on other sites.

       Please continue to use the Blog links for comments. I would particularly welcome any ideas and opinions about The Mysterious Plus.

       Happy reading and successful research on my website!