RARA-AVIS: the big clock

From: Robison Michael R CNIN ( Robison_M@crane.navy.mil)
Date: 03 Jun 2002


erick mentions four books: 8:The Big Clock 8:You Play the Black and the Red Comes Up 8:The Talented Mr Ripley 8:The Chill

...would my fellow avians care to opine on which I should first pursue? Thanks for your help.

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i just finished fearing's _the big clock_. it was intelligent and well-written and entertaining, but there was also something unmoving and cold about it which i found disagreeable. this could be attributed to the personality of the major first-person, or i could ignore barthe's "death of the author" and point to fearing's life, but either way, i thought the book suffered from an almost clinically detached attitude.

this book was included in _crime novels, american noir of the 30's and 40's_. i've been working my way thru from the beginning, so i've already read cain's _the postman always rings twice_, mccoy's _they shoot horses, don't they?_, and anderson's _thieves like us_.

fearing's novel doesn't seem to fit in with the other ones. the first three are fairly well soaked in jim doherty's "dark and sinister" atmosphere, but fearing's novel seems more an exercise in intellectual cynicism.

so this post is not exactly an answer to your request for recommendations, erick, but at least you reap the dubious benefit of my questionable commentary. ;-)

miker

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