Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: The Reading List, and some other blather...

dspurlock@humana.com
Fri, 10 Apr 1998 08:14:24 -0400 << My comment was questioning the political
correctness of bounty hunters as protagonists in noir fiction -- if the
character placement is outside of modern day, I agree with the historicity
factor cited by Gary Niebuhr; if the novel is set in modern times, it could
show a disregard for public sentiment.>>
I'm not sure where public sentiment fits in with publishing. Look at the
various scandals and disasters that occur in our country and elsewhere and
within a week or two there will be one or two quicky paperbacks on the
racks about those scandals and traumas--publishers schedule a quick
turnaround to produce these books to cash in on the interest (morbid or
not) while the issue is still hot (or at least while the media is still
flogging it).

Everyone that I know abhors serial killers, but True Crime books were the
ones most frequently requested by customers during the three years I worked
in a bookstore. On the fictional side of things, you can even say that
Hannibal Lector has a fan following.

A number of years ago here in Louisville, Joseph Wesbecker went through the
Standard Gravure printing plant with an automatic rifle killing a wounding
a number of people. Still, crime and mystery and thriller fiction -- all of
which rely in some part upon murder and mayhem -- remain popular reading in
this community.

So I'm really kind of lost with the public sentiment/politically correct
stance on this issue.
--Duane

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