Miles Archer observed--
<<<(Jack Bludis said)
<<< <Parker's contribution, I think, is the
domestic other life and the violent sidekick.>
>>>
<<<I'm not sure 'contribution' is the word I'd use.
Hmmm... 'adulteration'? 'Pollution'? It'll come to
me...
<<<Suffice to say, I don't think much of either
device, let alone their constant repetition from book to
book.>>>
I'm not a big Parker Fan, but I do recognize these things as
contributions. But I stopped believing in Parker about ten
years ago.
I guess what I was saying was he saw that the PI could go in
a different way from the alcholic PI, loner with the heart of
a prince.
I think we're talking grapes and pears and pineapples when we
compare noir, hardboiled and PI, except that all three can be
combined in various ways to make decent book.
My one word definintions again: noir/screwed,
hardboilde/tough, and PI/relentless. As much as I hate to say
it, Stephanie Plum even qualifies under the "relentless"
definition.
I do agree thought that many writers write the same book over
and over again. Chandler did, Ross MacDonald did, John D.
did, so did Mickey Spillane and Parker.
Hammett didn't and Elmore Leonard sure doesn't although he
loves to bring back his favorite characters. (Hammett did
write the same short story over and over again.)
Hemingway wrote the same romance over and over, but without
the happy ending. Even "The old man and the sea" is a love
story on several levels. Faulkner wrote the same southern
gothic. And Fitzgereld did the same slice of life over and
over.
It's not easy to be original every time out.
Maybe when they said, "we all have a book in us," they mean,
"we all have (only) one book in us."
Jack Bludis
===== UPDATED 11/18/03 http://JackBludis.com
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