Todd:
> Yes, it was inspired by Beiderbecke's
life.
Then Al: Not according to the author. "The inspiration for
the writing of this book
[Young Man With a Horn] has been the music, but NOT the life,
of a great musician, Leon (Bix) Beiderbecke, who died in the
year 1931." - attributed to Dorothy Baker on the inside page
of my 1962 Corgi edition.
********* Well, it came in the mail yesterday, and I'm hot to
read it. After Faulkner, O'Hara, Gardner, and Whitfield, I
thought I'd be ready to move on to some of the cool 40's
titles, but I keep finding more 30's stuff to read. I just
finished West's MISS LONELYHEARTS, and since DAY OF THE
LOCUSTS came in the same volume, I plowed into it. At home I
started Paul Cain's FAST ONE last night, and I've got two
Graham Greene's to read along with Dorothy Baker's YOUNG MAN
WITH A HORN. And I'd still like to get ahold of Caldwell's
TOBACCO ROAD and Latimer's MURDER IN THE MADHOUSE. WAHOOOOO!
YEAH! Great stuff.
For a while I only bought used if I couldn't find new, but
with the trade paperback plague putting TOBACCO ROAD at $14,
I think I'll buy it from Abebooks for $1.95. Even with
shipping, the difference is still enough to buy a 6-pack of
good beer.
On a more contemporary note, someone somewhere recommended
John Wessel as being sorta noir, so I picked up something by
him at the smelly Caveat Emptor used book store in
Bloomington. I can't remember the title, but the blurb on the
back made it sound pretty tough.
miker
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