--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, geir glosvik
<oldreilly@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, yes, I see exactly what you mean. Cozies are for
those who like
that stuff, and and that's ok. Just don't mix it into our
books. No, this is not irony - I mean it. The one Lehane book
I read - in spite of all the chill and the killing - had a
cozy tone to it that was misplaced. Dialogue is such an
important part of a hard-boiled mystery that a cozy and
puerile humour destroys it all. Learn from the masters! And
Block is a master - at least in his Matt Scudder books.
>
Let's not forge the "midboiled category", neither cozy nor
hardboiled. Enough loosening of the hardboiled strictures to
give the novel a more naturalistic tone, yet not a
prefabricated puzzle or a heartwarming yarn. I believe Lehane
is midboiled, as is Sue Grafton. It's the kind of story that
can be sold to both sexes, a definite advantage. This is only
a conjecture, fully unsubstantiated, so please don't throw
bricks. You can throw only first editions of Chandler and
Hammett.
Now about Hit Man: After reading the first story about
Keller, it seemed to me that I knew the character. That was
too soon. Later reading lacked surprises, though it is all
very well done, smooth as hell. Still, I would not say that
the Keller stories are cozies. The substratum is very dark
and the style is muted rather than cozy. At least, none of
the Keller stories made me feel warm and fuzzy.
Best,
mrt
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 23 Nov 2007 EST