Juri,
You dismiss most of the PI genre as nothing more than "girl,
chase and guns." What is that if not the synopsis of just
about every book Goodis ever wrote (at least the 9 I've read
and loved, even when the plots are ludicrous), one of the
authors you counter with?
And I've got to agree with Kevin, you place an incredible
amount of weight on Spenser alone as representative of the
modern PI. I have gone on record numerous times that I am no
fan of Parker (read 8 or 9 of his, too), so I really don't
like the idea of him standing for all contemporary PIs
(admitting he has been incredibly influential on many/most of
the authors I do like).
Also, blaming the PI genre for the lame spy books which may
or may not descend from them (not from Ambler, Maugham, etc?)
is an example of the logical fallacy called asserting the
consequence, like claiming Hendrix is less of an artist
because a lot of bad heavy metal guitarists have modeled
themselves on him.
As for PI books being superficial, just playing themselves
out without any authorial involvement, isn't that how
non-fans dismiss any genre? Non-fans see only the most
surface traits, ignoring the subtle variations underneath.
From the outside, all reggae, disco, rock 'n' roll, etc,
sounds alike. It is only with interest and familiarity that
someone gets past the obvious similarities of each genre's
distinctive beat to hear the variations which can be played
around it. Isn't that the definition of genre, the dialectic
between convention and innovation? Are you actually trying to
tell me that Goodis (or Cain or Thompson, to name but a few)
is any less bound by convention than PI writers?
That said, I've got to admit there is probably a bit of truth
to what you see as the future of hardboiled and/or noir. The
Cain/Goodis/Harrington/Bunker side of it probably is more
fertile. There are a lot more options when the boundaries are
expanded to include all novels dealing with crime.
So why am I still so much more likely to pick up a PI novel
than any other type of crime novel when I need my hardboiled
fix? It is because of those conventions which seem to bore
you so much, Juri. I find them reassuring and comfortable.
However, I also desire some innovation. And I have found it
in numerous recent PI writers. I don't really look for this
originality in plot, but find it in character. Each of these
PIs is a distinct person, doing a job, walking down mean
streets. But they are not the same mean streets as Marlowe's,
so they cannot be the same PIs as Marlowe. And they don't
wear fedoras. So I read John Shannon, Denis Lehane, Jonathan
Valin, Richard Barre, SJ Rozan, Robert Crais, James Crumley,
Stephen Greenleaf, Linda Barnes, Earl Emerson, Jeremiah Healy
and Lawrence Block, to name but a few.
And once I put it that way I realize that the main reason I
stopped reading Parker is because I stopped being interested
in the character of Spenser (interesting is the key term, not
like; an unlikeable character can be just as, if not more
interesting as a likeable one). Having read Perish Twice
recently, I was reminded just how readable Parker is, even
when I don't particularly care about any of his
characters.
Mark
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