--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Ron Clinton" <clinton65@...> wrote:
>
> If that were a valid, comprehensive definition of noir, it seems to
me that
> that would discount a number of works associated with the genre.
THE KILLER
> INSIDE ME by Thompson leaps immediately to mind (and, yes, SMALL
CRIMES as
> well). I suppose each of the works' protagonists have an element of
> self-delusion wherein *they* might believe they're trying to do the
right
> thing...but the truth known to the reader is quite different.
If you're dealing with psychos, you have many possibilities open that
wouldn't be acceptable otherwise. You also expose yourself to
narrative dangers and problems that you wouldn't have otherwise. In a
way, a psycho character is never "established", he's a quicksand.
Then there are guys you can't be sure about, like the protagonist of
Charlie Huston's _Caught Stealing_. That is a very interesting
character, in my opinion. I don't know if this novel caught fire with
the public, but it's excellent.
Best,
mrt
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 09 Jan 2009 EST