I have been a long term lurker on this mailing list and
thought it time to emerge from the shadows. I have had some
contact with certain list members in the past and enjoy very
much the general tone of the discussion here. My favourite
writers include Hammett and Chandler obviously, Ted Lewis ,
Gerald Kersh, Charles Willeford, Harry Whittington and most
of the best Gold Medal writers, and from the modern era
writers such as Daniel Woodrell, Kem Nunn, David Peace,
George Pelecanos, James Crumley, and from this list John
Williams.
The reason I'm breaking silence is to bring Andrew Vachss'
work to the forum. I have picked up the impression that
amongst the connoisseurs of hard boiled fiction, the man is
not receiving his due. Is it his particular subject matter, I
wonder, that prevents him from being ranked alongside Ellroy
or Leonard? Even were that the case, surely The Getaway Man
ranks among the best contemporary hard boiled fiction.
I would say perhaps his Burke series has gone on a
little too long at the expense of other writing, but his two
books of short stories and the stand alone novels Shella and
The Getaway Man are flawless models of the contemporary
hardboiled form with a lineage directly traceable back to
Paul Cain and the rest of the Black Mask boys but without
being marred by any overt retrospection.
I would be very interested to hear other members views on
this subject. I look forward to contributing more to this
group from now on. Cheers, Dan.
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