Doug Bassett writes
>I sort of agree that the PI novel
>should keep up with the times, it's also true that
I
>could care less how "real" private investigators
do
>their work. I'm interested in the story and
the
>hardboiled mood.
I think that a lot of fans/practitioners of HB recognize
this, and agree, and I think that it's the reason that
amateur sleuths and/or hapless types who are simply drawn
into a weird/dangerous/HB situation may now be viewed as more
representative of the genre than the totemic PI, who must
either surrender his defining solitary stance (via Internet,
Cellphone, and other tech advances necessary to the work of
the modern PI) or risk becoming an anachronism, historical
artifact or pale shadow of his literary ancestors.
The amateur has always been with us, of course, but has
generally been considered negligible at best (with some
exceptions -- a number of John D's characters, for example),
at worst a buffoon, good for light entertainment only. I
think this is changing. As the modern lawman or PI is
increasingly defined by the technology available to him, the
author still interested in working within the constraints of
the HB crime story as a measure of the man -- not the tools
available to him -- are turning more toward the gifted
amateur and/or resourceful guy/gal in a jam.
Some of them are very, very good at it, among them Les
Standiford (the Deal novels), Jim Hall (Thorn), Ace Atkins
(Nick Travers), Bill Pronzini (Blue Lonesome, Wasteland of
Strangers & others) and Peter Bowen (Gabriel du Pre). I
think that the PI, like the cowboy, will always be with us.
Whether it is possible for him to retain any of the authority
that made him for so long the most recognizable emblem of HB
is another story. I doubt it, myself. The future may belong
to the ordinary person (read: amateur) rising to the
challenge. PB
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 01 Feb 2000 EST