RARA-AVIS: Article in GQ

Kevin Smith (kvnsmith@colba.net)
Thu, 21 May 1998 09:52:40 -0500 There's an editorial in the June GQ by Terrence Rafferty that's probably of
interest to this group. It's called Watching the Detective, and the
sub-head reads, "The literary genre that started as a kind of morbid
crossword puzzle became the privileged turf of the private eye. Now,
gorier, ghostlier and more neurotic than ever, the mystery novel's
something else again."

It's a pretty good article, with enough meat in it to spark a half-dozen or
so threads in this list, not the least of which is the assertion that
today's private eyes "feel like nostalgic diehards, worn down by the strain
of keeping the Chandler faith alive...as a compelling myth, the private eye
is history."

Rafferty also discusses Mosley, Lawrence Block, Timothy Harris, James Lee
Burke, Frank Miller (?) and Carroll O'Connell, among others. I don't agree
with everything he says, but his arguments are well-presented, and he has
certainly given us some food for thought.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Smith
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
Vote for The Best and the Worst of the TV Eyes-in this month's P.I. Poll!

Admit it! You watch television!

#
# To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to majordomo@icomm.ca.
# The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.