<<Well, I take it you would prefer a straight detective
story without
the
external characterizations? Hmmmm.>>
No, that's not at all what I said. I believe that a novel is
ultimately
memorable because of its characters and not because of
particularly
clever gimmicks in the plot. But padding does not develop or
illuminate
a character. It's an obstacle. If it's used in a series, it
usually
becomes repetitive.
<<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.>>
This is an excellent example of the hardboiled P.I. novel.
Block is a
fine stylist who does not divert with extraneous material.
Scudder's
problem with alcoholism is part of the character, and it is
handled
superbly throughout the entire series (well, he sobers
up).
As an aside, maybe we could include some Block in our
reading
list..."Ginmill" would be an excellent choice. And no-one
will complain
of padding!!
Regards,
Mario Taboada
#
# To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to
majordomo@icomm.ca.
# The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.