Re: RARA-AVIS: Feminist Readings of Chandler

MT (matrxtech@sprintmail.com)
Sat, 17 Oct 1998 17:24:40 -0400 Kevin Smith:

<<Anyway, if a critic writes well, and backs up his or her statements,
whether they like the book or not, chances are you'll be able to decide
if you'll like it. A good critic should let you know whether they liked
something, and leave it up to you to decide if you will.>>

Certainly the critic cannot be criticized for criticizing...However, a
book review should not be mainly an opportunity for the critic to talk
about himself and his own problems and obsessions. I don't think good
criticism is possible without some distance.

At the same time, unless the reviewer is a complete hack who will give
an opinion on anything once the proverbial nickel has dropped, one
assumes a certain affinity for the genre. If that affinity becomes
complicity, we get a classic, worthless "you scratch my back, I'll
scratch yours" review. If there is no affinity or, worse, there is an a
priori hostility towards the genre, the review becomes a form of public
denunciation.

Joyce Carol Oates=92s appreciation of the hardboiled genre can be gauged
from her statement in her review of Chandler:

=93What is badly needed for the edition is an introductory essay of some
depth, an overview of the mystery-detective genre and an assessment of
Chandler's seminal place in it, and, still more, a balanced assessment
of Chandler's significance, if any, in American literature. Chandler's
use of Hemingway (whom he rather gracelessly parodies in Farewell, My
Lovely) might well be investigated. The phenomenon of Raymond Chandler
raises an interesting question: Can one be a "major" figure in a "minor"
field?--a "great" writer in a genre in which there is very little
competition for "greatness". There has always seemed an element of
special pleading in Chandler criticism, as if the flaws and infelicities
in his novels were somehow not relevant.Is the canonization of Chandler
by the Library of America a sentimental gesture, a quirky misstep?=94

Get that knife out. She also complains about the inclusion of Chandler's
short stories from the pulps in the Library of America collection,
saying that those crude stories really try the patience of the most
generous reader. This leads me to believe that Joyce has no
understanding of the genre - for Chandler's pulp stories are among the
glories of that era. She also complains about Chandler's (or rather,
Chandler's characters, a distinction she ignores) using racist and
sexist terms. I understand her disgust at this, but Chandler's usage is
not unlike that of many writers of that era - and much later. If I
recall correctly, a classic like Hemingway's _The Sun Also Rises_ is
quite offensive in this respect.It's sloppy of a critic not to take
history into account. If there was rampant racism and sexism (and there
was, undoubtedly), why condemn a writer for drawing characters from the
world that he knew?

By the way, I did find the electronic file of this review, and I'll
e-mail it to anyone who wants to read it. Posting it, however, would
violate the copyright.

Regards,

MT
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