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RARA-AVIS: Back cover blurbs
Sorry if this is a FAQ, i reviewed the archives for this list and nothing
lept out at me as such...
I am fairly new to hard boiled fiction, and learned quite a bit from Will
Denton's "Books I Have Bought" page.
One thing that i hope someone can clarify for me... who writes the back
cover blurbs for books? Do they even _read_ the book?
For example. I just finished "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler. It's
the 1988 printing from "Vintage Crime" Here's the blurb on the back cover...
"Raymond Chandler's sixth novel finds Marlowe constantly on the move with a
case involving a war-scarred drunk and his nyphomaniac wife. A psychotic
gangster's on his trail; he's in trouble with the cops; an an unequaled
number of corpses turn up."
Okay, first off, the war-scarred drunk and his nymphomaniac wife both die
before the first 50 pages. Although they continue to figure in the story,
Marlowe's case is mostly involved with the drunk romance writer and _his_ wife.
Secondly, there is _no_ psychotic gangster. There are two, Starr and
Menendez, that were friends of the war-scarred drunk, but neither acts in
any way that even remotely suggests that they are 'psychotic'. They aren't
on his trail either, Marlowe usually ends up seeking THEM out. It's not
like Marlowe is having to hide from them.
Lastly, there are a total of four corpses, and Marlowe only ever sees _two_
of those. I know for a fact that this isn't an 'unequaled number' for Chandler.
I know i'm being nitpickey, but lately i've been paying more attention to
those cover blurbs. "Farewell My Lovely" was frustrating, because it
mentions "...three very beautiful but potentially deadly women." For the
whole damn book i was waiting for this mystery THIRD beautiful but
potentially deadly woman to show up, AND SHE NEVER DID!
Andy
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