> I will sooner read even a mediocre PI novel than a
good book in another
> genre. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort just to
expand that to
> other types of crime fiction, even as close as
hardboiled and/or noir.
>
> And as much as I do still enjoy and get immersed in,
as much as I get
> out of and am glad I have read "serious fiction," it
sometimes requires
> an "appointment" for me to get started.
>
> That said, I am interested in that which pushes the
edges of those
> conventions (one reason I think so much of James
Sallis, for instance).
> In my mind, the best genre fiction offers a
dialectic between convention
> and novelty.
I agree with the "pushing the edges" feeling here, and Jim is
a good one to cite for this. Too bad the next Lew Griffin is
the last one (so he says now...)
This discussion got me thinking about a recent article I saw
in Boston Review by James Crumley, writing about how he
learned about writing from Richard Yates, a well respected
literary short story writer. Also reminds me how I've heard
that Jon Jackson, Raymond Carver, and Thom Jones used to run
around together when studying at Iowa's creative writing
program. So, Crumley and Jackson started out without genre in
mind, but found that crime fiction worked for them. Man,
they've pushed the limits, certainly. Compare their work to
Carver's and Yate's (and toss Andre Dubus in there, another
rough and tumble writer who could break your heart with so
few words). Good stuff.
Neil Smith
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