On 19 July 2000, Ray Skirsky wrote:
: Changing the format may not change the novel, but if it
changes the
: comfort level of the reader, then it does change the
experience.
: Myself, I like old HBs and PBs and pulps.
There was a mention of this on the fictionmags list a little
while ago. Someone brought up the Borges story about Pierre
Menard, who writes DON QUIXOTE again, word for word, except
it's better than Cervantes' version
(if I rememember right). H.G. Wells was published in British
magazines like THE STRAND and read by Victorians at the
height of the Empire. He was republished by Hugo Gernsback
and read by American kids in Idaho in the '30s. Same story,
perhaps, but very different.
The same's true for Chandler and other classic hardboiled
stuff. Grabbing the latest BLACK MASK from the crippled
newsie on the corner, tossing him a quarter and slapping a
Lucky in your yap while you ankle over to the automat for a
coffee and a sinker is a hell of a lot different from
ordering a Library of America omnibus edition from Amazon
while liberating personal time from your boss in your cubicle
at work. It all depends on what you like, though. The first
Chandler editions I read were the Vintage reprints from the
'70s or so, with bright, pastelish covers. The sizes were
nice and the type was good, and when I reread Chandler, I
pull those down. I'd like the LOA edition, and consider it
authoritative, but I wouldn't read it on the subway. Nor
would I read the serialization of THE MALTESE FALCON in BLACK
MASK on the subway, though I'd love to have that too.
I have five Mike Hammer books in one omnibus hardcover
edition, which I got to replace five ratty paperbacks. I
haven't reread any of them since then, but then again I
haven't reread any Spillane since then.
The important thing is that the books are easily available to
everyone at reasonable prices in nice editions. People like
us can hunt for our preferred obscure printings. If the LOA
editions bring new people to Hammett and Chandler,
wonderful.
Bill
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.
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