Jeff wrote:
> All of it? I don't see how you could have seen
all
> of it coming. I've never
> been able to figure out how any Woolrich novel
ends
> except maybe Phantom
> Lady.
*************************************************** I got
from the drole humor of Lance's entrance on the murder scene
that everything was not as Marshall thought it was. Then all
we learned about Marshall's predicament was what his fevered
imagination tells us. Even in 1915, a murdered woman found in
a closet would at least make the New York papers. Lance would
certainly recognize the address and send his best friend a
letter saying, 'you'll never guess what happened at your old
apartment house.' That didn't happen. Either Woolrich forgot
about these factors
(not very likly as that would make the book less likely to be
published) or he was saving what happened as a suprise for
later. Fictional murders are very different from real
murders. A fictional murder has to have an element of irony
so that the story resolution works out right. I try to think
of these things all the time, so when I'm reading a book I'm
always considering what the author is most likely to do. I
thought this twist was almost too obvious. Very few mysteries
fool me because I don't try to solve them, I think, what are
the author's options and what will make the best story? Real
life crime, on the other hand, is seldom ironic and doesn't
have an audience to satisfy by fulfilling a plot outline.
Thinking like this has ruined Conan Doyle for me, because his
resolutions are so unrealistic, and given me a great
appreciation for Ed McBain and Ruth Rendell, two writers who
occasionally suprise me.
Patrick King
--- Jeff Vorzimmer <
jvorzimmer@austin.rr.com> wrote:
> >I wouldn't call Marjorie "strong,
reserved,
> >> determined, and confident." She's loyal to
a
> fault.
>
> This is a generalization that fits Woolrich's
female
> characters relative to
> his male protagonists. It's a characteristic of
his
> books that shows up over
> and over again.
>
> > As to the unpredictability of the ending,
perhaps
> it's
> > because I write, too, but I saw it coming
very
> early
> > on. It's good! Don't get me wrong. But I
did
> expect
> > it.
>
>
> Jeff
>
>
>
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