--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, William Ahearn
<williamahearn@...> wrote:
>
> I disagree. And it's not neo-noir either. I've
read
> several of them. Basically, Ken Bruen's series is
a
> cosy in Halloween drag. And I like the guy's
writings.
> I own several of his books. But take them apart
and
> see what makes them tick. Jack does not meet
his
> inevitable end or justice as the result of his
folly
> in these books. That's the definition of noir. Or
a
> truncated one. I could go on. He's sleuth with
David
> Goodis' map. It's dressed up with alcohol and
violence
> but Jack doesn't change, isn't changed. What Bruen
is
> doing is very cool and I like it in doses but
it
> becomes as predictable as any series with the
usual
> convienent characters and recurring roles. Why is
it
> noir? Because it's dark and about lowlifes? I
don't
> think that covers a noir definition.
William, would you consider Aleas's John Blake novels as a
possible candidate for a noir series? I just finished LITTLE
GIRL LOST, and am about halfway through SONGS OF INNOCENCE.
At the end of the first, Blake really seemed to have reached
a tragic conclusion, and to have been changed by it. At the
beginning of the second, he's not even working as a P.I. any
longer. I've heard the end of that one's a stunner, too. It
would be interesting to see how many tragically transforming
shocks a noir hero could believably absorb as a series
character.
Vachss's Burke character strikes me as another possibility,
based on your rules-of-thumb above, since his stories often
end very unhappily, and the transformation is evident in the
scars and baggage he accumulates from novel to novel.
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