Hmmm...more than a few P.I.s these days have some family, and
not just the
female eyes. Rob Kantner's Ben Perkins probably has more
friends and family
flowing through his series than any three or four female
eyes. Joe Gores'
DKA series features an artificial extended family (the
agency). Spenser,
Dan Fortune, Pronzini's eye (who shall remain Nameless),
Elvis Cole, Easy
Rawlins, and a whole bunch of others all have
girlfriend/wives and/or
children. Yes, most of the original private eyes worked more
or less alone,
and those stories are great, but that was a long time ago. I
don't think
having a family or friends or a significant other weakens the
myth. Handled
well, it actually expands the possibilities, and also raises
the stakes for
the characters. Certainly, some pretty good authors have
tried it. Marlowe
and Archer may have been loners, but they were also lonely,
painfully so,
and both series ended with the possibility of a romance, or
at least a
reprieve from loneliness. If the genre doesn't continue to
grow and evolve,
it dies, and becomes just a stagnant museum piece. Far better
that it
evolves, and remains living, IMHO.
Of course, there will always be those literary luddites who
refuse to
accept any change, and will end up reading the same handful
of books over
and over, and there's those who would play with any genre,
pulling it here,
poking it there, stretching it until it snaps, like Silly
Putty, and nobody
remembers what it was like originally. But somewhere in there
is a
middleground, I hope.
By the way, since I think this whole
hardboiled/politically
correct/egg-cooking tips/thought police/dickless dicks debate
actually
started with a mention of Sue Grafton, maybe it's sort of
appropriate that
one of the recurring themes in the series lately deals with
her character
rebelling against family ties being imposed on her, which she
sees as a
threat to her basic independance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Smith
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
No Business For a Lady? Women detectives in this month's P.I.
Poll!
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