Neil wrote:
"Chandler isn't one of my top five favorites, but I admit
that he's a great writer, almost poetic, and he influenced so
many detective writers that even those trying to work against
the grain, like Crumley and Ellory, had to tip their hats to
him at one time or another."
Chandler is one of my top five and he does, indeed, cast a
very long shadow. Do you really think Crumley is working
"against the grain," though? I see him as another step along
the way, but firmly rooted in the tradition. For instance,
I've always thought of The Last Good Kiss as an expanded and
permutated version of the center portion of The Long Goodbye,
Marlowe's search for Roger Wade. I can't see Chandler ever
coming up with a character like Fireball Roberts,
though.
Mark
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