The weird thing is that James claims to have been influenced
by Macdonald. He dedicated one of his books to Kenneth
Millar.
About Gault, considering that he wrote several Joe Puma
novels, the way he treats the guy in "The Cana Diversion" is
very cold, indeed. Makes for a good story, though.
> From:
Moorich2@aol.com
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Gault & Ellroy
>
> The panel topic was something along the lines of
"mystery writing as
> literature." The audience reaction to Ellroy's
performance
> gradually shifted
> from amusement at the spectacle to irritation and
some hostility.
> At some
> point, Ellroy decided to read an example of great
literature in
> mysteries.
> He did not name the writer but launched into the
reading and it
> went a bit
> long. Worse yet, the writing was not that
impressive. It
> sounded like it
> belonged in the "hey, ma, look I'm writing" school
of overdone
> prose. This
> impression was partly due to the selection of
material but
> perhaps more to do
> with Ellroy's reading that dripped
pretension.
>
> When he finally stopped there was a moment of
silence and from
> down the panel
> Gault asked "Who wrote that?"
>
> A loud and triumphant sounding Ellroy proudly
announced, "Ross Macdonald!"
>
> Still silence. Then Gault said simply, "He shouldn't
have."
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