dick lochte:
> The quest for the ultimate definition for hardboiled
is a fun game, but
> it can't be won. We're talking fiction, here, and no
matter how one or
> two or one hundred of us may agree to define
hardboiled, some pesky
> author either already has or soon will come along to
bust the
> definition.
It amazes me how so many people care so much about the
creatures of someone's mind. When I was going to officially
title the best character list
(and there was a hassle about calling it best also) I had
carte blanche. I could have titled it, 'The 100 Best Hard
Boiled Characters in Hard Boiled Fiction, 'The Best Hard
Boiled Characters in Fiction' or 'The Best Characters in Hard
Boiled Fiction' I thought the repition of hard boiled in the
first was unnecessary I considered the second, but
considering we are talking about hard boiled fiction anyway
it didn't seem right. Finally I chose the last partly to
parallel the wording of the NPR list and because it seemed it
would encompass best the characters I thought would be
chosen.
Jim is usually very careful to strictly follow conditons and
definitions. I know in the 'blown away' thread he would
remind people to pay strict attention to how I had worded the
qualifications. I think with the wording I chose any
character in a hard boiled work should be eligible. Someone
like Skink, though certainly tough and pretty colloquail when
he says something, would qualify as hard boiled, but I don't
consider Hiaasen's books to be hard boiled Like several I
didn't think belonged he was voted in. We knew going in this
couldn't be a perfect list.
I probably started this by objecting to Jim's writing that
Gutman isn't hard boiled. I should have remembered he didn't
have to be because he appeared in a classic of hard boiled
fiction. In excuse, I objected Jim's calling him
'prissy' when he isn't though Joel Cairo certainly is.
It's hard for me to fathom how somebody can examine fictional
character's fictional background to determine if that
character is hard boiled. The redeeming factor of the
selection process and the ensuing debate about how to
determine if a character is hard boiled has probably resulted
in the most activity on this list. Even if it doesn't make
sense, it's fun. Mark .
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