{"id":9538,"date":"2024-05-01T01:53:13","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T01:53:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=9538"},"modified":"2024-05-01T14:43:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T14:43:23","slug":"conmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/conmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Conmen and Vagabonds: Caper Stories through Centuries"},"content":{"rendered":"

Is there honor among thieves? Inspired by our last post on Crook Manifesto<\/a><\/em>, Colson Whitehead\u2019s Harlem-set work of fiction, which appeals to all readers of caper stories, let\u2019s take a closer look: what exactly<\/span> is a caper story?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Cover<\/p>\n

A caper story is very similar to a straight crime story, however, the former is infused with generous doses of humor and witty plot twists. The cheeky but likable characters often fall into the category of confidence men (the origin of the term “conmen”), ranging from <\/span>the fictional gentleman-burglar, Ars\u00e8ne Lupin<\/a> in the early 20th century to overly confident female protagonists, who get <\/span>away with breaking the rules, such as in the books written by <\/span>Janet Evanovich<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

These conmen are highly intelligent, competent, and shrewd. They have the audacity to break the law and pull off crimes (mostly swindles and thefts) in full view, right in front of the reader (and often the authorities), while going through all kinds of unexpected and unrealistic adventures. From the the charming and cunning Felix Krull in Nobel prize winner Thomas Mann\u2019s unfinished novel to Patricia Highsmith\u2019s brilliant but unscrupulous Tom Ripley (listed in another post presenting the many flavors of crime fiction<\/a>), these lovely young men and women sweet talk their ways into our hearts and charm the socks off the readers of all generations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without going into the ethical aspects, if there is a single takeaway from caper stories, we should remember Felix Krull\u2019s statement: \u00a0\u201cOne should never deceive oneself, especially when it comes to deceiving others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Movie<\/a>You might have seen the movie <\/span>Catch me if you can<\/em><\/a>, based on real events, a typical caper story with a protagonist outwitting many smart men after him. Television shows such as <\/span>Leverage <\/em>and The Republic of Doyle<\/em> are some of my all-time favorites.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, a good caper story is always placed in the appropriate historical context, often providing a rather enjoyable reading of the era with quite a bit of research behind. To that end, all characters have to be depicted through the use of clich\u00e9s and stereotypes, creating quite a difficult situation for the author in the long run; just think of Janet Evanovich’s character Lula. <\/span><\/p>\n

But that\u2019s the topic of another post. Until then, browse the list of titles related to con artists and caper stories available from Rutgers University Libraries below.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Books on caper stories and conmen from Rutgers University Libraries<\/h4>\n