Chris wrote:
>The Light of Day by Graham Swift: I was disappointed
with this one, which is
>not at all hard boiled, but is about a private eye. I
caní´ say more without
>creeping into spoiler territory, so consider yourself
warned. It is a
>first-person narrative of a day in the life of a
Wimbledon P.I. I enjoyed
>this book to a point because the writing and plot
structure reminded me a
>bit of Joan Didioní³ Latin America novels and a bit of
Thomas Cookí³ mid-90s
>novels (all books and reread a number of times).
Thus, the whole set-up of
>the book left me expecting a big twist toward the end
and there was nothing,
>just the end of day. I know that that was probably
the point, but I was
>hoping for more.
I had the exact opposite reaction. No, it's not truly
hard-boiled, but anyone who's read much HBt, or is a big
Hammett fan might get a kick out of it, since in some ways it
picks up on the situation where THE MALTESE FALCON leaves
off. And I'm convinced it's deliberate -- some of the
dialogue even echoes Hammett.
Imagine the life of Spade waiting for Bridgid to get out, a
sort of stream-of-consciousness commentary as Spade goes to
see Bridgid on visiting day in the slammer. No shoot-em-ups
or any real sort of action, but I found this character study
fascinating. It's like a long, drawn-out look at the
works.
Hmmm... I wonder what Swift looks like in a bikini?
--
Kevin Burton Smith The 2003 Cheap Thrill Awards are back. Vote now, vote often -- for the best in P.I. Fiction. http://www.thrillingdetective.com
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