52 pages • 1 hour read
Robert GalbraithThe Cuckoo's Calling
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Authorial Context: Robert Galbraith
Robert Galbraith is the pen name for J. K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter series. She was born in 1965 in Bristol, England. Rowling’s early adult life contained significant hardship, including the loss of her mother at a young age, the divorce of her first husband, and the birth of her youngest daughter that culminated in her living in near poverty. She wrote the first of seven Harry Potter novels (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) while training and working as a teacher and published it in 1997. In addition to the Harry Potter and Cormoran Strike series, Rowling has published one adult fiction novel titled Casual Vacancy.
After the success of the Harry Potter series, Rowling created a pen name because she wanted to distance herself from her famous name and even claimed that Galbraith was part of the military to avoid authorial photographs. There are also significant dissimilarities between the Harry Potter series and the characters, plot, genre, and setting for The Cuckoo’s Calling. Considering The Cuckoo’s Calling and its perspective on fame, J. K. Rowling’s use of a pseudonym is significant because her name has become synonymous with the Harry Potter series, which was a global literary and cinematic success. This fame would affect the reception and perception of any future novel or series from J. K. Rowling. In this case, The Price of Fame relates to the need to separate oneself from it, to branch out into a different genre and allow a new novel to stand on its own, without instant attention and fame, and without the pressure to live up to the standards set by the fame of the Harry Potter series.
Sociohistorical Context: London in the 2010s
The Cuckoo’s Calling takes place in London, England in the early 2010s. It is peppered with references to the real world that many readers will recognize, grounding the novel in present media accessibility. The novel also contains the echoes of the 2007-2009 economic recession, which had long-lasting ramifications, such as dips in the housing market and job availability. Strike is a veteran of the Afghanistan war, which is ongoing within the confines of the book. These details all provide the reader with the context of the early 2010s, setting up the experiences of the characters and drawing on the reader’s own memories of this time.
One of the most important social contexts established by this historical grounding is the accessibility of information, especially information about celebrities. Much of the novel grapples with the morality of following celebrities. After Lula’s death, news coverage and characters alike debate whether she was driven to her apartment suicide as a result of the constant attention from the media and the public. Lula’s increasing paranoia is echoed several times throughout the text and is juxtaposed with characters who consider the exposure to be another component of fame. By fostering this dialogue within the novel, Galbraith encourages the reader to speculate on the current status of exposure in the lives of famous people. There are significant ties to celebrities and individuals who have had mental health crises exacerbated by a constant media presence. While the novel’s resolution confirms that Lula’s death is a murder and not a suicide driven by media exposure, it establishes a core question to guide the reader’s moral considerations.
Literary Context: Detective Fiction
The Cuckoo’s Calling is a crime fiction novel that falls into the subcategory of detective fiction. In this subgenre, a detective investigates a crime, most often a murder. Key to the detective novel is a heroic, intelligent individual who outwits criminals with their cleverness or superior ability. Sherlock Holmes is a prime example, as he uses his intellect to solve crimes and mysteries. In more recent years, private investigators are increasingly portrayed as hardened and worldly, using their vast experiences to bolster their investigative prowess. Detective novels set in the present day often feature an individual, either the detective or someone they know, with superior technological skills that allow them to collect information that would otherwise have been inaccessible.
Strike fits many of the characteristics showcased in classic detective fiction novels. He is a grizzled war veteran with extensive contacts. He uses his intelligence, as well as his experience as a military policeman, to uncover evidence ignored by others. Robin fits into the classification of a sidekick, a person who not only assists the detective in their investigation but provides them with humanization. It is through the context of Robin and her perception of Strike that the reader learns many pieces of personal information about him. Their slow-growing friendship supports the resolution of the mystery while simultaneously bolstering both of them as characters.
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