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Re: RARA-AVIS: Back cover blurbs
>>One thing that i hope someone can clarify for me... who writes the >>back
cover blurbs for books? Do they even _read_ the book?
The promotional staff. No, they don't read the book. And you shouldn't
dignify their efforts (or lack thereof) by reading the back.
Here: We stand in a place where we can speak of "hardboiled" or "noir". We
can assume that we are all fans of some stripe. I tell you, "Go forth and
read every last word Raymond Chandler (or Dashiell Hammet or Nicolas
Freeling) wrote." That should be enough to get you to take a few steps into
the dark alley. (I'm off to the bookshop tomorrow to pick over Constantine,
Connelly and Ventura.)
Forget whatever help the back of the book might give you. Where you're
going, there are no guidebooks, no maps. Only unwilling guides of greater or
lesser honesty and honor. Follow them at your peril.
myshmysh
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