RARA-AVIS: _The Simple Art of Murder_

William Denton (buff@vex.net)
Thu, 10 Dec 1998 02:32:59 -0500 (EST) So far I've read the title essay and three of the stories. Here's a
few short comments, to start things off.

"Spanish Blood" (originally published in Black Mask, November 1935) is
a pretty fast, crisp story with an archetypal hardboiled cop lead.
The opening scene with Masters and Aage sets things up, but some of
the later stuff was sufficiently unexplained to leave me a little off
kilter. In the Paul Cain stories I've read, he wouldn't explain
anything. Chander explains more, but I still feel like I'm on unsure
ground when reading some of his stories, and I like it. Of course
everything gets explained at the end. I do think the thing with the
doe was a little farfetched.

"I'll Be Waiting" (Saturday Evening Post, 14 October 1939) is one of
my favourite Chandler stories. It all takes place in half an hour or
so, it seems, and it's just a brief - but eventful - period of time
snatched out of the life of a tired hotel dick. Nobody but him knows
all that's going on, but he never shows anything and never feels the
urge to unload all his troubles. Even when told his brother just
died, he manages a small smile at some patter from the desk clerk,
because it's none of the clerk's business and he's not going to give
away anything. Hold up that attitude against the people on the
daytime talk shows.

"Pearls Are a Nuisance" (Dime Detective Magazine, April 1939) is
hilarious. Henry Eichelberger is a riot. The drunk driving did make
me cringe a bit, though. I rarely have problems with any period
attitudes but driving drunk always seems stupid and wantonly
dangerous.

Chandler didn't write too much short fiction, and these 1939 stories
were two of his last. 1939 was the year _The Big Sleep_ came out, and
he had more novels in 1940, 1942, and 1943, and that's when he went to
Hollywood, if I've got my dates right.

Bill

-- 
William Denton | Toronto, Canada | http://www.vex.net/~buff/ | Caveat lector.
"'Whom are you?' said he, for he had been to night school." - George Ade

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