Let me just jump in here and say that Bellem's badness is his
goodness, a la Harry Stephen Keeler, Michael Avallone, etc.
For further illumination on this, read Bill Pronzini's Gun in
Cheek and Son of Gun in Cheek.
That said, this doesn't exonerate everyone's bad prose --
only those who take it to the level of a fully achieved
anti-style.
Mark
On 4/27/08, Patrick King <
abrasax93@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> --- jacquesdebierue <
jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com<jacquesdebierue%40yahoo.com>>
> wrote:
>
> > A couple of days ago I picked up a used copy
of
> > Block's _Hit Parade_,
> > the third collection of Keller adventures.
The
> > effect of this book was
> > disturbing: I could not possibly believe in
Keller
> > _nor_ could I be
> > sure that this series of shaggy dog stories
was
> > meant to be understood
> > as shaggydoggy. The style suggests the latter,
but
> > not completely. In
> > sum, an impeccably written book that never came
into
> > focus. The
> > insistence on the theme of stamp collecting
ended up
> > annoying me, but
> > that is a minor matter. In the end, I felt
like
> > writing a Keller story
> > with real people in it. I even thought of a
couple
> > of things to do to
> > Dot, Keller's patient and amiable partner (a
total
> > cipher, like
> > Keller), just to rattle her.
>
*****************************************************
> A few weeks ago you were waxing poetic about the
style
> of Robert Leslie Bellem, so I ordered his novel,
BLUE
> MURDER, from amazon. I've gotta say this may have
been
> the worst book I've ever read. About half way
through
> I started to wonder if Robert Leslie Bellem
was
> actually Lesley Bellem. It really felt like a
woman
> parodying tough it was so over-the-top.
The
> detective's name is Duke Pizzatello and every woman
in
> the book is smarter than he is like the master
is
> smarter than the dog. The plot is all over the
block.
> The motivation for any character to do anything
is
> impossible to guess. When the DA gave Pizzatello
the
> opportunity to spring a trap on a murderer that may
be
> completely dreamed up by Pizzatello who is the
most
> likely suspect... I mean, why would he do that?
I'd
> heard of Bellem before but never read him. I doubt
I
> will again. What do you like about this
writer?
>
> Patrick King
>
>
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-- Mark R. Harris 2122 W. Russet Court #8 Appleton WI 54914 (920) 470-9855 brokerharris@gmail.com
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