On 24 September 2006, Michael Robison wrote:
> Geoffrey O'Brien, in his Hardboiled America, saw
these racy paperbacks
> and their risque covers as an anachronism,
disconnected with the present
> and frozen in the past, but Lee Server disagrees
with this assessment,
> declaring that they have "lost none of their
power."
Did O'Brien say that? Huh. HARDBOILED AMERICA was my
introduction to hardboild and noir writing and though I don't
go back to it often I have fond memories of it. It got me
looking for Jim Thompson, which led me to early Black Lizard
reprints, and then I was hooked.
I had a look at my copy of OVER MY DEAD BODY, and it's a fine
book, but I think there's a case to be made for the reverse
of the above quote. O'Brien talks about the books as writing,
but Server concentrates on the cover. The illustrations are
what attract most of the reader's attention. I think people
would see them and think of them as museum pieces, because of
the covers, and not consider the novels themselves. On the
other hand, Server's writing about the paperback market from
1945-55 so the books are about different, though related,
subjects.
Bill
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : www.miskatonic.org : www.frbr.org
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