Re: RARA-AVIS: Re: HAMMETT: Cynical Hammett (Was: Ned
Beaumont)
Anthony Smith (ansmith@netdoor.com)
Sat, 18 Apr 1998 16:13:43 -0500
> In the present era, many novels are grossly padded.
Robert B. Parker has
> been doing this for years. In some cases, the plot
would barely suffice
> for a short-short. We hear about Spenser's jogging and
gym habits, about
> the dog, about his cooking, about his sex with the
insufferable Susan,
> about politics, and so on.
Well, I take it you would prefer a straight detective story
without the
external characterizations? Hmmmm. For me, writing is not about
the plot
alone. There are only so many plots. I enjoy seeing the lives
of
characters, which make them feel more alive to me than
movie-like
stereotypes. Take Lawrence Block's _When the Sacred Ginmill
Closes_. Not
a lot of plot. Lots of interactions between friends, good
dialogue,
description of New York, lots of Scudder walking around. But
this is a
great novel. And still short.
> And even James Lee Burke, an author I much respect, has
padded some of
> his novels ("Dixie City Jam" is a fairly clear example)
with endless
> descriptions of the Bayou, dead cypress, alligators and
alligator gars,
> his own bait shop, and so on. Burke really can write,
and I forgive him
> somewhat, but sometimes the padding jumps at the
reader.
To me, when Burke does cut back a lot, like in his recent
_Cimmaron Rose_,
I am not as interested. I thought in that book, the scenes were
too short,
and there wasn't enough description. I had a hard time getting
a handle on
the world he was trying to conjure there. As for the Louisiana
novels, I
love his descriptions. Burke was a literary writer before he
began the
detective novles, so he knows that describing the physical
world is
important, as well as putting in things to surprise the reader,
let us
enjoy some moments without the whole thing being a plot
chaser.
> I guess publishers no longer want the honest 200 page
mystery - a length
> that does justice to most plots and
characters.
I say at LEAST 200, but I prefer 250-350 (when a writer gets
to four, then
I can say it's overwriting. Then again, my favorite writer,
Ellroy, ALWAYS
puts out huge, 400+ page novels, and I love them.)
You said Dickens was a true hack, right?
I notice that plenty of authors make the top ten bestsellers
list with
every plot filled, convaluted thriller they write, but are
generally
reviewed badly for not being good writers. They only put in
what advances
the plot, quickly, cliched, illogical sometimes. I prefer the
ones who
take their time, but that's just my opinion. It's okay to
disagree.
Everyone has their own tastes, then.
best wishes,
Anthony Smith
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