RARA-AVIS: In defense of Derek Raymond (Was 'various bits of
gratuitous bol
Peter Walker (pw@pw.cablenet.co.uk)
Sun, 8 Nov 1998 13:15:34 +0000
Jeez, what a bunch of.....well forget that for a moment.
One word: 'Gratuitous' - as in 'gratuituos violence'.
Many things have been said about Raymond and partic.
_Dora_
but this is just wrong. Horrible as it is the violence has a
very
specific place and meaning in Raymond's books. To call it
'gratuituos' is to miss the point - which is hardly surprising
since
most of you gave up after 30 or so pages. Why didn't you just
say
"I didn't like it" and leave it at that? Save bandwidth.
Kev Smith is a good example of this (Hello Kev!):
> As for Dora, I too, was rather unimpressed. I did
manage to finish it,
> though. The violence didn't bother me so much as the
fact that I really
> didn't care what happened to anyone in this strangely
lifeless book.
This is fair enough. It takes a lot to impress our Kev,
clearly.
Whether or not it is 'lifeless' is debateable but then Kev
says..
>Degree zero is right.
> No doubt this was the writer's intention, and in that,
he succeeded.
Right, he succeeded in doing what he wanted to do.
Terrible.
> according to an interview I read,considering how much
disdain he had for
> the general reading public, he probably wouldn't have
wanted massive
> popular success, either. He succeeded in that,
too.
..which is strange. Holding up popular success as some kind of
measure
is pointless. Raymong cared passionately for his subject.
That's why
he wrote the books he did. He was a gentle, thoughtful and warm
man.
I never met him but have met a few who did, including Mark
Timlin, who
still talks passionately about Raymond (The only man to change
his name *to*
Derek, as Timlin is fond of saying)
I mean, what interview did Kev read? If 'distain' was an issue
we'd
have to *off* quite a few writers begining with Ellroy.
Even if you don't like the books - which evidently many of you
don't
but was there ever a writer of any calibre who only wrote books
people liked? - then at least you could have some respect. He
tried to do
something with literature and probably failed but its worth a
fair
hearing.
Besides, anyone who can drink that much and stay upright
desreves some
respect.
Raymond wanted to push the limits of the 'black novel' to its
furthest point. He wanted realism - real people and real pain -
in
his books. 'Lifeless' is a hell of a criticsim to level at
Raymond, especially when you condider some of the crap
around.
Raymond gave a lengthy interview in Crimetime( issue 1):
"There's nothing pretty about murder. It is obscene.......its
reality. Truth, fuck it. I don't know why people think I
shouldn't
write this sort of stuff. It happens all the time. just pick
up a
newspaper. I think it's obscene, so i bloody well say so.
Forgive
me for getting hot under the collar...."
Right, there you have it all. "Lifeless and gratuituos distain
for
the public". I ask you...
Raymond goes on to say re _Dora_....
"Everything in the book is true. Its based on three different
cases.
What the killer does to his private parts is true.......its
obscene, its true. Thats all I've got to say to people who
criticise on that level"
Later in the same interview....
"I see them [his books] as human novels. To me the elements of
human
nature desribed [in his books] are present in everybody,
irrespective of social barriers"
And again....
"I hate to see victims..."
There he goes again - empty, gratuituous and degree
zero.....
On writing _Dora_.....
"All I can say is that it takes me a long time to come back to
myself
after I finish one of these books, a long time. It took me 18
months
to get over _Dora_. Some people say I still haven't. It almost
killed me, the bastard. Gald I did it though"
I mean you an see it all there - Raymond hates his
public.
Whatever else you think Raymond should be seen as a true
original in
crime writing and amongst a sea of mediocracy he should at
least be
tolerated and shown respect.
I (obviously) don't know but I'd put a lot of money on Jim
Thompson,
Hammett, Hansen,McDermid, Chandler, Ross MacDonald and Ellroy
-
to name a few recently favoured and accepted writers on this
and Kev
Smiths list - standing up for Raymond and defending him and
having
a fair bit of distain for the book buying public's opinions.
Raymond's account of himself is..
"I'm a very gregarios person.......I sometimes get books to
read.
....but hter is no counterpoint, no humanity, to offset the
amoral
acts of the central character......in that sense I'm a
moralist"
Thank heavans for Raymond is all I can say. Now lets gey back
to
Jerffey Archer for christ sake before (to paraphrase
Raymond)
we all get so far up our backsides......perhaps I'll forget
that one
as well!
Peter
----------------------------------------------------
Crimetime. The best magazine of its kind.
Issue 2.2 out now: Oct 98
http://www.crimetime.demon.co.uk
ct@crimetime.demon.co.uk
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