You started with the most "horrifying" of the Robin Cook's
novels (his pseudonym was Derek Raymond in the UK and in the
USA) , but if you cannot even finish this one ("I was Dora
Suarez"- probably his masterpiece) I doubt you will enjoy
other novels from the same author. Raymond is certainly one
of the important writers of the "after sixties" . Even if he
was recognized so very lately in his own county (UK) -and I
suppose it was the same delay in the USA (?). If you are
interested in HB/Noir, ignoring Derek Raymond's works will be
a loss.
The graphic violence, gore and horror scenes he stitches to
his plots are never gratuitous, it's his way to remember the
readers that the world is a horrifying place by many of its
aspects, and that inflicted death is the ultimate sin. He
developed his view many times in interviews and in his
"memoirs", and it's his honest opinion. His picking on the
fame of Agtha Chrisite and the derived cosy school of
Anglo-Saxon authors, fame they wrongly acquired by their
false account of the human world and low writing skills, is
well known and illustrates Raymond's views- views that also
explain why he sometimes overdo in horror scenes, trying to
force the reader to look at a certain reality.
A lot of his writings carries allegoric intentions, which
probably could mislead some readers, plus an occasional
intellectual treatment of some of his views and opinions
about life and death, evil and society, all that could add
confusion for these readers. His desperate plots and gloomy
ambiance certainly do not help them in overcoming their
rejection of Raymond's world.
But he is a great Noir writer, no doubt about it, way above a
lot of modern book makers.
If you give him a second try, maybe you could go for:
"the Devil's Home on Leave"- 1984
(still some graphic horror)
Even an uneven novel such as "Nightmare in the Street"-1988
remains captivating and haunting
(some violence, but no extended graphic descriptions)
"The Hidden Files" -1992, his memoirs, is fascinating, as he
tries to explain there why he writes and his views about
Noir- he died in 1994.
E.Borgers Hard-Boiled Mysteries http://www.geocities.com/Athens/6384
--- K Montin <
kmontin@total.net> wrote:
> SNIP!
> I began to read the book in the fall, but put
it
> away at the point where the
> pathologist invites the detective to look at
Dora's
> corpse. I found I was
> really not interested in any more horrific
details.
> It was already grisly
> enough. A pity, though, because I was just
getting
> to like the author's very
> dry, albeit grim, humour.
>
> In my view, the violence is not gratuitous. That
is,
> it seems essential to the
> story, and the author did base the book on
three
> real-life cases. But for me,
> it was just too much. I did not want any
more
> graphic nightmare images burned
> into my brain.
>
> As it is, the word shred now has another set
of
> associations that I could've
> lived without.
>
> I may try one of his other books some
time.
> Meanwhile, I Was Dora Suarez is in
> a box to go back to the second-hand
bookstore.
>
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