--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Zeltserman"
<dz@...> wrote:
>
> Tapani: I couldn't agree more about Lawrence Block.
His prose is one
> of the cleanest and smoothest around. His plots
almost don't matter
> his prose is so good. Interestingly, though, in one
of his early
> books republished by Hardcase, Lucky at Cards, his
writing was
> actually a bit ragged, showing how much he had grown
as a writer from
> that book to Scudder.
>
> As good as Block's prose is, I don't think anyone in
the mystery
> space matches Rex Stout as far as pure writing
goes.
>
To mention just a few, Willeford, Gores, Westlake, Leonard
and Connelly do, I think. Though pure writing is never
pure... it needs to match what's being told, especially in
the genres which are of interest to us. I do love how Block
moves a story along, unobtrusively but always with the right
accentuation. But if Block wanted to write Chester Himes's or
K.C. Constantine's stories, he would have to adapt his
singing style to the music, so to speak. Another phenomenal
stylist is Fredric Brown, not mentioned often enough of
late.
Best,
mrt
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