THE SHELF
FAMILIAR
FICTION
Sideways author sets a new mystery on a well-known campus .
BY DOLORES DAVIES
WHEN REX PICKETT , ’ 76 , set out to write The Archivist , his recent oeuvre , he didn ’ t just want to pen a murder mystery — his goal was much more ambitious . He wanted to reinvent the detective story , with its gumshoe detectives and well-worn props ; he wanted to shake up a genre he loves .
“ I ’ m so tired of policemen and detectives trying to solve crimes . So many stories have been told that they have become predictable and uninspired ,” says Pickett .
Pickett , who is best known for Sideways , the wildly popular 2004 movie based on his eponymous novel , was inspired to write his action-packed murder-mystery after meeting Kate Saeed , the archivist at the UC San Diego Library who was charged with processing and organizing his papers after they were donated to the Library ’ s Special Collections & Archives in 2013 .
“ It never occurred to me when I donated my 50 boxes of screenplays , manuscripts and other materials , that they would be so lovingly organized and cared for ,” recalled Pickett . “ It was as if I was entrusting Ms . Saeed and the Library with the entirety of my life , and they were more than honoring that trust . I knew I had to write about the little-known world of the archivist . Why couldn ’ t an archivist — someone who is smart and motivated and has access to a great deal of information — outsmart the police at their own game ?”
The Archivist , which was named one of the top books to read by the New York Times when it was published in November 2021 , traces the Nancy Drew-like exploits of archivist Emily Snow , who is hired by Memorial Library at Regents University to finish processing the papers of Raymond West , a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and a member of the university ’ s Literature Department . After surreptitiously wading into the dark archives at the Library , Snow discovers a tangled web of love , passion , and intrigue involving her predecessor , Nadia Fontaine , and Raymond West .
Anyone reading the book who is familiar with La Jolla and UC San Diego will quickly discover that Regents University is a stand-in for the university and Memorial Library is unmistakably Geisel Library ( see sidebar ).
“ As a writer , there is a diaphanous curtain between real life and fiction for me ,” says Pickett . “ It ’ s important to me that my stories feel real , that where they ’ re set is a real , tangible place . I draw from real life , and sometimes real people , but in the end I ’ m only interested in the emotional truth .”
Not surprisingly , Pickett appears to know the terrain of The Archivist like the back of his hand . The Emily Snow character lives in Del Mar , where Pickett currently resides and lived for several years when he was attending UCSD . Pickett grew up in San Diego and spent all four years at UCSD , surfing at Black ’ s Beach and reading Kafka and other serious writers on the seventh floor of Geisel Library .
“ I spent countless hours poring over books on the seventh floor ; books I couldn ’ t afford to buy . I consider myself fortunate because oftentimes I had the Library all to myself ,” recalls Pickett .
As a Special Projects major , Pickett was allowed to map out his studies under the auspices of three
52 TRITON | SPRING 2022