On 4 July 2004, Karen Anderson wrote:
: Brian hit it right on the head with the comment about
Pelecanos'
: characters: "the 'acting tough' as opposed to 'being tough'
part."
That's there because he's doing it intentionally. Terry
Quinn, in those three books with Derek Strange, is acting
tough. Strange *is* tough. I forgot the line exactly, but
there's one bit where Strange sees someone across the street,
takes his measure, and knows he can kick the guy's ass. He
says something about how it feels good to know you can kick a
man's ass. Quinn's unsure about that kind of thing, feels the
need to act tough so he can prove it, and he pays for
it.
Of course, you might think the people who are supposed to be
tough are just acting tough, in which case I can see why
Pelecanos would let you down. But I don't read them that way.
There's also the matter of wisdom: the tough ones are wise,
and the ones putting on a show haven't gained the wisdom
yet.
: What's really sold me on Pelecanos, though, is his use of
the soul-less
: DC setting. DC (where I grew up) is an utterly tragic city,
corruption
: at both ends of the socioeconomic scale and then this very
silent middle
: class, black and white, turning the cogs of the
machinery.
Last week I saw the hour-long documentary/dramatization that
Mr. Lankford did about Michael Connelly. It really brought LA
and Connelly's books--and every other LA writer's--to life
for someone who's never been there. I'd love to see a similar
thing done for Pelecanos's Washington. Mr. Lankford, might it
happen?
Bill
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.
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