Blacktop Wasteland

Literary genres possess motifs and thematic earmarks that readers come to expect. Many romance novels contain a moment in which true love is expressed with a kiss, while many Westerns contain galloping horses and six guns. Blacktop Wasteland, a noir novel, both fulfills and subverts the tropes of its genre.

While noir resists a tidy definition, it usually presents a loose constellation of distinctive traits. As with much noir literature, Cosby’s novel pits a disenchanted underdog against long odds. The novel’s setting is also typical of noir insofar as it’s a corrupt and violent world that, even after the protagonist triumphs (or at least survives), remains corrupt and violent. Likewise, many quandaries remain unanswered, symbolizing the ambiguity (or unsolvability) of the human condition. There is a sense of inescapable fatedness and a grim view of society and capitalism.

The novel’s trope subversions include the rural setting, as most noir is urban. Additionally, the femme fatale—Jenny—uses sexual charm to hoodwink not the protagonist but a relatively peripheral character, Lou Ellen. Lou Ellen, in turn, subverts the trope wherein the femme fatale’s “victim” is a man. Still, Blacktop Wasteland subverts fewer tropes than it fulfills, and some of these fulfilled tropes become thematic linchpins. Among the novel’s most thematically salient tropes is the protagonist’s moral ambiguity—which, for Bug, is tied to his very identity. The narrative’s core premise creates this moral ambiguity: Bug undertakes the criminal project so he can care for his family. Noble intentions drive his illicit actions. The moral ambiguity further accrues, however, as Bug comes to accept that he enjoys the thrill of the crime.

It is chiefly in this context of moral ambiguity that the novel becomes a story of identity. Bug is unlike many noir heroes in terms of his high intellect and introspection—introspection that occurs, counterintuitively, alongside explosive hijinks. A novel focused on the best getaway driver in Virginia is certain to have at least one dramatic car chase, and Blacktop Wasteland does not disappoint. Where the author goes beyond typical expectations is in his description of the emotional impact these life-or-death races have upon Bug, and the intellectual quandary they create within him. In the getaway scenes, Cosby compares the elevated state of Bug’s consciousness to that of a jazz musician experiencing “flow” or a professional athlete who is in the “zone.” He describes this state as being “present”:

This was where he belonged. Where he excelled. Some people were meant to pound the keys on a piano or strum the strings of a guitar. A car was his instrument and he was performing a symphony. A coldness filled him. It started in the stomach and spread to his extremities. He knew no matter what happened he would never feel more alive, more present than he felt at this moment. There was truth in that idea and sadness too (116).

Cosby implies that, more than the money, the thing that truly drives Bug back to driving is the unique sense of presence and purpose it creates within him. Turning his back on getaway driving for Bug is like saying goodbye to his truest inner self.