> What do you folks think about this? Is Noir
fiction
> an anywhere, anytime (recently conquered
Roman
> Britain, for example, where the "mean streets"
would
> be very, very muddy) subgenre?
>
It really ticks me off and will be dealt with in an essay
that probably no one will read. I read Megan Abbott's first
two books because she's the highly touted neo noir femme des
mystique of the moment and I was appalled that anyone was
considering this noir. Not that she's a bad writer -- you can
hear early Didion and Nat West in some of her stuff -- but if
you're gonna write the LA or Hollywood corrupts novel you
better have your act together because you're going up against
Chandler and Chinatown and LA Confidential and not be some
poseur who fizzles at the end. I couldn't believe how bad it
was. I'm in the middle of her second book now and it's not
going well. These days, mystery fiction sucks and is gutless
and tells few tales well.
On one list I was on someone suggested that The Matrix and
the musical Chicago were noir. Almost had to clean my
keyboard.
And a damn one of them is even close to noir.
William
Essays and Ramblings
<http://www.williamahearn.com>
____________________________________________________________________________________Looking
for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with
Yahoo! FareChase. http://farechase.yahoo.com/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 19 May 2007 EDT