--- jacquesdebierue <
jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com> wrote:
> --- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff Vorzimmer"
> <jvorzimmer@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > > 3) Charles Willeford 317
> >
> > > 16) John D. Macdonald 120
> >
> > Willeford seems to be steadily gaining favor
on
> the list, while JDM is
> > falling out.
>
> Curiously, Willeford has become a lot better
known
> since his death. I
> would say that the opposite happened to John
D.,
> even though he
> remains in print and presumably continues to
have
> readers. It's hard
> to compare those two. Willeford was a true
original,
> whereas John D.
> was more of a composite of crime-writing
traditions.
> Fortunately, we
> can read both. John D. at his best is very
engaging
> -- and at his
> worst, he is merely humid.
***************************************************** Yes.
Willeford is a great writer, while MacDonald offered a
laid-back rebuttle to Mike Hammer and James Bond at a time
when that was exactly what the genre wanted. Who wouldn't
want to win a boat in a poker game? For my money Travis McGee
was too maudlin and self-effacing. It also bothers me that we
don't really have a clear idea of what he does for a living.
He's not really a private detective or a security guard. What
did he claim he was getting paid for to the IRS? Silly books
really.
But Willeford! If his characters are self-effacing it's
because they have serious mental problems. His work reminds
me greatly of Elmore Leonard. Willeford's humor is gentler
though. Not the wildly funny coincidences, which are all too
true among criminals, that Leonard brings. I recently read
BLUE MIAMA and couldn't help but compare it to Leonard's LA
BRAVA. Both take place in Miami. Both have main characters
who are sociopaths masquerading as cops. Hoke Mosley is a
more troubled, less philosophical and happy hero than La
Brava. But both are intrepid and smarter than their
adversaries give them credit. Loved both books!
Patrick King
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