--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "bobav1" <bob.vietrogoski@...> wrote:
> Between the two, I enjoyed Starr more because I live in the world of his characters, not in Brown's 60 years past world. But the saving grace of a powerful ending versus a weak ending can really make a difference.
>
I didn't expect The Follower to have a surprise ending... the signals that the author was sending told me that it was going to wind down more or less the way it did. So I wasn't disappointed. That Brown novel you mention is one I haven't revisited for a long time, but I did reread several of his last year and found him not at all dated psychologically -- the props are dated but hey, he wrote realisitically of his era.
About Starr, he has a great ear for how people talk and, even more importantly, of how they put out attitude. Of course, living in a city where tons and tons of attitude are put out constantly must be a huge source of material. Now the question: why do people put out attitude? Do they think that life is a game? I like how Starr strips these people bare, it's almost a clinical job, often quite funny to watch -- also alarming, because these insincere attitude types are everywhere.
Best,
mrt
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