Jennifer,
Having finished the two Manchette translations, I finally
read your piece. You do a great job of describing what's so
great about these books.
Spoilers ahead.
I kept thinking about Hammett's Flitcraft story while reading
3 to Kill. Beams fall into Gerfaut's life. And they keep
falling for a while. He comes completely loose from his
civilized shorings and aligns himself with the nature of his
new world, even becomes a killer, first in the moment, then
calculatingly. When that plays out, though, it does not
staisfy him. Flitcraft recreated a life much like his old one
when the beams stopped falling. Gerfaut goes even further and
just steps back into his own old life, telling everyone he
has no memories of the past year, as if none of it happened.
And in a way, it didn't. Nothing has changed.
I was also reminded of Goodis's novels, of men who are
dropped into extreme situations and adapt, or not. However,
Jennifer, you're right about Manchette's taking these stock
plots and standing them on their heads, using them to analyze
the society and the individual's place within it, unlike most
US noir, which focuses on the individual, and often his place
outside of society.
Now I'm just pissed that more of his books haven't been
translated into English.
Mark
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