RARA-AVIS: Shared chapters, Cook books, HB/Noir (again), Poodles

Kevin Smith (kvnsmith@colba.net)
Mon, 27 Jul 1998 13:06:50 -0500 >Surely, _Drowned Hopes_ (1990), a Dortmunder novel by Donald Westlake, and
>_32 Cadillacs_ (1992), a DKA novel by Joe Gores, share a chapter. Also,
>about 20 years ago, _Dead Skip_ (1972), the first DKA novel by Gores, share
>a chapter with _Plunder Squad_ (1972), a Parker novel by Richard Stark (aka
>Westlake). Also, _The Blackbird_ (1969), an Alan Grofield novel by Stark,
>shares a chapter with _Slayground_ (1971), another Parker novel. Of
>course, these shared chapters are not exactly the same, but describe the
>same situations from different points of view.

Thanks, Jiro!

Oh, and myshmysh, the question about summer reading is a bit of a plug for
my web site. Sorry if you thought it was part of the discussion. I'll
rework my signature file so it's more obvious. Sorry, folks.

>And what about ambience? Can't a hardboiled novel also be gloomy.
>Reference any of Thomas Cook's early novel that featured a New York cop
>that quits to become an Atlanta private eye.
The Frank Clemons trilogy! I don't give a damn if they're considered noir
or hardboiled, they're just excellent, powerful novels everyone on this
list should read. Congrats on your excellent taste, Reed, and thanks for
reminding me of them. With Cook's more recent successes, I imagine these
will be back in print soon. When they are, maybe we should think of reading
these.

>I don't think this is a tough distinction to make. The HB features a
>tough hero. Mickey Spillane, Phillip Marlowe, Sam Spade or Spenser.
>But the moral alignment is clear. The Noir novel features an
>anti-hero. See 'Postman Always Rings Twice' or 'Double Indemnity.' The
>moral alignment or the protagonist runs contrary to the morals of
>society in general.

This is a pretty good definition, Kern, in fact, except that I'm sure most
of us would question at times the moral alignment of Mike Hammer (Kiss Me,
Deadly) or Spenser (say, Catskill Eagle), and Spade was nothing if not
ambiguous when it came to morals. Marlowe, on the other hand, was,
comparatively speaking, a boy scout. Then again, Murder, My Sweet is
considered a film noir (and one of the best). But while a work may be both
hardboiled and noir, I don't think the two are synomynous.

>Has anyone else seen the mutilated version of Poodle Springs that HBO
>put out? I had been looking forward with great anticipation for a
>few months. I had to re-read the book to get the bad taste out of my
>mouth. Why did they change Linda Loring's character? Why screw up the
>plot? Oh, well, I hope Parker made some cash out of it.

Well, we know Chandler won't see any of it....did anyone else see the show?
Whether you liked what Parker did or not, he at least tried to follow
Chandler's ideas. I wonder if the changes were script writer Tom
Stoppard's, himself a mean man with a pen, or some demographics consultant
or TV suit? Letterman called television them weasels, and he was dead on...

**************************************************
Kevin Smith
It's summertime, and the living is cheesy...What are you reading this summer?
Tell us in this month's P.I. Poll on The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/

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