RARA-AVIS: Ross Macd and Rex stout
DOUGLAS GREENE (dgreene@odu.edu)
Wed, 14 Jan 1998 09:35:48 EST
Ross Macdonald was indeed repetitive, and his plots often do
not
stand the stress of closs examinatiomn; Jon L. Breen wrote a
marvelous
parody called, I think, "The Drowning Ice Cube." It's in Jon's
collection, HAIR OF THE SLEUTHHOUND. In addition, occasionally,
Macdonald writes so well that it is obvious that a highly
educated
author is standing behind Lew Archer's first person voice. But
all
that said, I think he was a major writer. He had something to
say
(about families, about society, about California, about--say it
not
in Gath!--angst) and he usually said it very well.
As for Rex Stout: what's interesting about his work
historically is
that he combined the eccentric genius detective in Nero Wolfe
with the breezy,
slangy pulp private eye in Archie Goodwin. Stout too was
an
excellent writer, and he too was often weak on plots.
Doug
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