Kent Harrington wrote:
> I was told to put "Dia De Los Muertos" in a drawer
and forget about it. I've never forgotten that.
DIA was a fantastic book, cover to cover. It was the first
book of yours that I read, based on the superlative reviews
and remarks on this
Rara-Avis. I was astonished that it hadn't become
a massive bestseller. Here is what I wrote one friend in an
email as soon as I finished it " It was so good, I didn't
want to rush on while reading it; like a good meal -- I had
to savour each morsel. You must acquire and read this book!"
I then walked the book down the street to another friend and
insisted he read it right away -- he told me a couple of days
later it was the closest he's ever seen to the perfect crime
novel. I am so glad that you didn't put it in a drawer. Last
week, we had houseguests, and after a discussion of crime
novels (he had only read Elroy, and was in the middle of the
new Cormac McCarthy book), I described and recommended DIA
knowing, unforetunately, that he wouldn't be able to find a
copy easily. I gave him a copy of Crumley's LAST GOOD KISS as
a consolation because I can always find copies of it, and
wasn't about to lend my only DIA to a new aquaintance.
After first reading DIA, I followed up immediately with DARK
RIDE. When RED JUNGLE was published, I phoned Dennis
Macmillan to buy a copy, and finally, read AMERICAN BOYS last
month. I've still not found a copy of THE TATTOOED MUSE, but
I'm sure one will turn up eventually.
Sorry about the rambling -- now some questions.
> I had not read much crime fiction and never heard of
Jim Thompson...
> I was writing novels but was unpublished. I had
been so influenced
> by Hemingway's voice and others, Lawrence, a lot of
the Brits they were
> seminal to my style and still are. ...
What became of the writing you were doing before DARK RIDE?
Do those novels remain unpublished, or were they worked into
the subsequent efforts?
> I didn't plan the book. I just sat down and wrote
it.
How planned out were the others -- obviously DIA works within
a strict framework timewise, and there was a hell of a lot to
squeeze in. BOYS seems more off the cuff, as does
JUNGLE.
Finally, perhaps you can explain your Guatemalan connection
-- In DIA, two Guatemalans get a $9.50 ride, on their way to
San Fransisco. The central BOYS character seems to have the
same relationship to Guatemala that Russell in JUNGLE has,
but parentally reversed.
"Guatemalans are tough people," Calhoun
said, looking into the mirror,
enjoying it. "Look at them ... look
at the kids. They're beautiful,"
Cheers,
--Stewart
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 09 Sep 2005 EDT