Cop Hater by Ed McBain

How hard is Cop Hater to read?

Cop Hater scores 32 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it moderately challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.

Vocabulary: 42 out of 100

Ed McBain employs a contemporary, accessible vocabulary, but integrates specific police jargon like 'squeal,' 'heeled,' and 'bulls,' alongside detailed forensic terminology from autopsy and ballistics reports. While not archaic or invented, these specialized terms and occasional Spanish phrases elevate the complexity beyond simple contemporary fiction, placing it above 'Beach Read' but below the literary density of 'The Great Gatsby.'

Sentence structure: 40 out of 100

The prose is generally direct and declarative, characteristic of crime fiction, with frequent, straightforward dialogue. While some descriptive passages and technical explanations feature longer sentences with subordinate clauses, they lack the extensive nesting or convoluted structures found in works like 'The Golden Bowl.' The overall readability is higher than 'The Great Gatsby,' aligning more closely with the clear, functional syntax of '1984' but with slightly more descriptive flair.

Abstraction: 40 out of 100

The novel is firmly rooted in a concrete police procedural narrative, focusing on the immediate events of the murder investigation. However, it includes moments of introspection and dialogue where characters reflect on the nature of death, justice, and the role of a cop, such as Carella's thoughts on death as an 'invasion of privacy.' These elements provide a layer of social and emotional observation, making it more abstract than 'Asterix the Gaul' but less so than 'The Great Gatsby' or 'Remains of the Day.'

Information density: 55 out of 100

The narrative maintains a brisk pace, introducing a range of characters, multiple plotlines, and intricate police procedural details. Sections dedicated to forensic analysis, including detailed autopsy reports and lab explanations of hair and blood evidence, are particularly dense with specific scientific concepts and observations. This requires sustained attention from the reader to track the numerous facts and technical information, making it more demanding than a typical plot-driven thriller like 'The Housemaid' and comparable to the careful layering in 'Austerlitz.'

Narrative indirection: 30 out of 100

The narrative in 'Cop Hater' is highly direct, explicitly detailing events, character actions, and police procedures. Readers are told most of the information needed to follow the plot, with minimal reliance on subtle inference. This directness positions it closer to the explicit exposition of '1984' (35) rather than the pure implication of 'Finnegans Wake' (98).

Symbolic density: 20 out of 100

The text operates primarily on a literal level, focusing on the concrete details of the police investigation and urban environment. While themes like heat and urban decay are present, they function as literal setting elements rather than complex, pervasive symbols or allegories. This makes its symbolic density comparable to the direct experience found in 'Diary of a Young Girl' (18), far from the rich symbolism of 'Moby-Dick' (90).

Ironic distance: 30 out of 100

The narrative voice is largely straightforward and earnest, presenting the events and characters without a significant gap between what is said and what is meant. While there are moments of dry humor and character-driven cynicism (e.g., Bush's 'cop hater' rants), these do not create an overarching ironic critique or require the reader to consistently read against the grain. The author maintains a relatively direct engagement with the story, unlike the complex satire of 'The Sellout' (85).

Resolution withholding: 25 out of 100

The central mystery of the cop killings is fully resolved by the end of the excerpt, with the killers identified, their motive explained, and their fate sealed. There is no lingering ambiguity regarding the main plot points or character arcs. This clear closure aligns it with the genre-expected endings of books like 'Beach Read' (25), rather than the profound ambiguities of 'Waiting for Godot' (95).

Structural complexity: 30 out of 100

The novel employs a conventional, largely linear chronological structure, following the police investigation without significant temporal jumps or experimental forms. While there are shifts in perspective between different detectives, these are smoothly integrated and do not disrupt the narrative flow. This straightforward presentation is far from the fragmented chronology of 'Infinite Jest' (85) or the stylistic variations of 'Ulysses' (98), aligning more with a linear romance structure like 'Beach Read' (28).

How Cop Hater is regarded

Cop Hater holds a literary regard score of 35 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.

About the author

Ed McBain