Re: RARA-AVIS: i've been listening

From: a.n.smith ( ansmith@netdoor.com)
Date: 18 Apr 2001


> Do you really think Crumley is working "against the grain,"
> though? I see him as another step along the way, but firmly rooted in
> the tradition. For instance, I've always thought of The Last Good Kiss
> as an expanded and permutated version of the center portion of The Long
> Goodbye, Marlowe's search for Roger Wade. I can't see Chandler ever
> coming up with a character like Fireball Roberts, though.

I think the "knight errant" quality of Marlowe is missing from Milo and Sughrue. They seem to stumble through cases rather than pursue justice, making them Bizarro Marlowes or something. So I have always looked at Crumley's work as a response to the PI tradition that is part of it at the same time. You're right about Fireball, though.

and in response to miker:

>and neil... who the heck is crumley?

James Crumley wrote these fantastic detective novels: The Wrong Case, Dancing Bear, The Last Good Kiss, The Mexican Tree Duck (okay, it was sketchy but good), and Bordersnakes. He sticks his loners in the American West and lets them drink infinite amounts of alcohol. Weirdness all over the place. He's a national treasure. The next book is done but is being held back a while (right, D Mc?).

Neil

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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 18 Apr 2001 EDT