Based on a couple recent comments--one which said that men's
adventure went to the video stores and the other that said
that the short story also went to the video store.
I agree with both.
You might notice that there aren't too many women's stories
out there either.
It's a matter of what has happened to fiction in
general.
All of the pulp writers and many if not virtally all of the
authors we discuss here, started the trend.
Mysteries have always been in a category of story and novel
that more aptly fit the short story and screenplay plot than
the *traditional* novel plot.
Beginning, middle, and end for the story; acts one, two and
three for the screenplay. The same thing in different
words.
For the most part, fiction today takes place in a restricted
period of time--most often only a few days and rarely more
than a few months.
Where is the novel that covers a lifetime? Mystic River? Yes,
that qualifies. L.A. Requem? Well, maybe, but it's a lot of
flashback.
I think its our male attitude that drives us.
"OK, lets get on with it. I get the picture. Yeah, yeah, yeah
it's a sunset. Yeah, she's a good looking blonde, dispense
with the details. Let's go?"
Women are verbally oriented, men visually. Women want slow
and easy. Men want down, dirty and dast.
Women buy the most books; men buy most videos. The most
successful movies are action-adventure, not chick flicks.
That's because the guys rush off to the movies or the video
store for their quick fix. Women read their romance novels in
a leisurely manner.
The times, whether we like it or not, are changing. The only
way to get men to read again is to give them stories that
excite them visually. Men want to see. Women want to feel.
Well, men want to feel too, but it's a different kind of
feel. Women feel in the heart; men feel in the gut.
Let's hope that somebody writes a book that becomes a movie
that drives more of our bretheren back to the pages and away
from the screens.
There's an outside chance, and I hope more than I believe,
that "Mystic River" might do that.
Wouldn't it be great to see somebody hardboiled other than
Parker on the best seller list?
Block's done it a few times, but his books don't seem the
have the staying power.
On another brief topic that's being discussed here: my
favorite Scudder is "When the Sacred Ginmill Closes."
Sorry I haven't posted much lately. I'm in the middle of a
few things that are time consuming.
Jack Bludis
===== http://JackBludis.com
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