Sara Paretsky is also an unabashed, unapologetic feminist,
and she, too,
has had many things to say about Chandler over the years, not
all of them
complimentary, regarding his treatment of women. Yet, over
all, she's
favorable, very favorable. I know-I was at a feminist
bookfair years ago,
and she spoke before a very large crowd of women, and, after
pointing out
Chandler's crimes, took the time to put it into context,
citing the era in
which his novels were written, the attitudes of that time,
and then went on
to point out his many, many strengths. I'm sure she ruffled a
few
all-or-nothing feathers that day. She was able to love some
parts of his
books, and find fault with others. Her own work has been her
attempt to
rectify what she felt was wrong with the genre; surely a much
more
honourable response than a mere hatchet job, which is what
Oates seems to
have done (I dunno-I haven't read it).
And anyone who doubts Paretsky is a fan of Chandler's has
only to read her
brief notes at the end of her Marlowe short story in Raymond
Chandler's
Philip Marlowe, that anthology that came out a while
back.
Anyway, if a critic writes well, and backs up his or her
statements,
whether they like the book or not, chances are you'll be able
to decide if
you'll like it. A good critic should let you know whether
they liked
something, and leave it up to you to decide if you
will.
Oh, and welcome to the playhouse, Robert. I'll be stockpiling
some
brickbats as soon as I figure out what they are....
**************************************************
Kevin Smith
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
This month: Hit and Run by Christopher Mills, and More Comic
Book Eyes
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