Doug -- I really like your definition. Under it, Pete Gent's
NORTH DALLAS FORTY
(speaking of HB sports again) would be a prime example of a
hard-boiled novel. I think it's a terrific book: Has anyone
out there besides me read it?
-- A realistic presentation of the world? Yep, it's the best
realistic presentation of the world of professional football
-- particularly pro football of the
late-'60s/early-'70s.
-- For lack of a better phrase, a "Hemingway-esque" style or
derived style? Yep, certainly written with a Hemingway-esque
style
-- An interest in the underworld or underside of society? The
underside of pro football (drug use, gambling, rape, etc.) is
certainly an interest of both the author and his fictional
narrator. And it ends with a particularly horrible murder by
an obsessed fan.
-- Finally, a focus on an individual and how he/she makes
his/her way through this world? The whole novel is about how
Phil Elliott survives this horrible world he's in.
Later....Kip
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