> Why not? Why shouldn't I do the same of Hammett and
Pelacanos. What I'm
comparing is craftsmanship not writing styles of the times or
popular culture.
>Everything else is either poor craftsmanship or a
writer who can't
> shut up or who is showing off. Pelacanos is too good
to be guilty of poor
> craftsmanship.
> You may love the way he shows off because because
you find that it speaks
> to you; I'm that way about Hunter Thompson, Louise
Redd, and John Gregory
> Dunne. That doesn't mean the writing is
effective
Jim,
I figure we won't find a common ground on this. To hold
Hammett up as a model for craftsmanship is fine--for one type
of craftsmanship. And to say that the MTV&information age
type writing style is not effective and therefore the HB
writer must stand above it with a certain type of style,
well, still says to me something about a reluctence to
change. So, my sticking point is that I'm not sure I get your
idea of change. I see GP's work as effective writing. I've
discussed economy and fast story writing with my boss here,
who even encouraged us to a "fast and dirty" ethic in which
the story is the most important thing, and should be written
quickly, and sometimes the sentences might be a little ugly
or go too long, but there's a beauty in something that's
unpolished like that. The story might go to strange places,
and so be it. And in George's novels, this happens and I'm
attracted to that. I see other others of a particular age
"showing off", like Bret Eston Ellis, some recent Ellroy,
John Ridley. That's where I see the author butting in (and in
these cases, I don't care, I accept it, even though I do see
THAT as bad craftsmanship, being too, too clever, they are).
But in GP's, I see characters going and doing and exploring,
and what they do becomes the story instead of a vehicle for
the resolution of a plot.
I do like the thought provoking of all this, even though it
looks like we still disagree.
Neil Smith
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