Re: RARA-AVIS: RE: Hard-Boiled and Pronzini

From: James Rogers ( jetan@ionet.net)
Date: 20 May 2000


At 12:05 PM 5/20/00 -0700, Dick Lochte wrote:
> Childish? Marginal? The later opinion is quite plainly
>uninformed. From his first novel about his nameless detective, Pronzini has
>been a powerful presence. That's not an opinion; it's a matter of record.
>Thirty years at the game and still going strong. He's about as marginal as
>Ed McBain.
>
>I'm not sure what prompted the "childish" comment. Is it Pronzini's private
>eye's fondness for pulp magazines? His difficulty in establishing
>relationships? It's always a good idea to accompany a criticism with at
>least a clue as to what you're taking about.
>

   The "childish" comment was not needed and was unkind. It reflects my love for hyperbole. It also indicates a distate for Pronzini that is greater than I actually feel. I retract and apologize. To be clearer, I would simply state that I find his stories to fall on the very light side of HB. I will stick with "marginal"....I like McBain very much, but as a
"hardboiled" writer (whatever that means) I find him rather marginal as well, though his best stories are unquestionably tough as a cheap steak. Lest I get I get flamed for this opinion as well, I repeat _I like Ed McBain_.
   I am a pulp magazine fanatic myself, so Pronzini's fondness for the things goes into the "plus" column.
                 

James Michael Rogers jetan@ionet.net

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