Stephen wrote:
"Macdonald's way with similes can seem forced and excessive
at times. I believe this is a common criticism."
That was certainly Chandler's putdown of Macdonald.
Like Dave, I read all of the Archers when I was younger, in
college in my case. First I read a handful as I found them,
but then went back and read the series in order. Who was it
that said that Macdonald only wrote one book, but what a book
it is? I saw them as variations on a theme. Unlike Dave, I
still liked him when I reread one of his books
(Black Money? the one that's an homage to Gatsby) when we
were discussing Macdonald a couple years ago. Yes, he often
pushes his similes to the extreme, and sometimes too far, but
that's actually something I like about his books, the
highwire act.
Mark
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