Gonzalo,
I've never seen a primary source on the claim that Postman
influenced Stranger, either. I first saw it on the cover of
the Vintage reprint of Postman from the late '70s (maybe
early '80s), but that could well be ad copy
exaggeration.
Madden mentions it in the intro to Tough Guy Writers of the
Thirties, but gives no source. Camus's Rebel is quoted in the
Hammett essay in the anthology, but this excerpt's discussion
of the tough American novels of the '30s and '40s does not
contain any specific names. Has anyone read the whole Camus
essay? The volume's essay on Cain by Joyce Carol Oates
mentions Camus several times, but only in terms of how Cain's
characters embody certain traits Camus had written about (in
Rebel).
The only reference to Camus in Hoopes's bio of Cain is in a
mention of Madden's book helping Cain's literary reputation
when it had mostly faded.
Mark
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