Very good, and very close. Except that, for some of them
(Chandler's
Marlowe or Macdonald's Archer, for example), the cynicism
and
hardboiledness masks a almost-romantic belief in love),
however doomed it
might ultimately be. It might be misguided hope, but it is
hope.
The last books in both series, PLAYBACK and THE BLUE HAMMER,
make a point
of peeling back the layers, and offering a glimpse at the
mushy centre of
both Marlowe and Archer. Of course, without hope, it's hard
to imagine a
series character not just shooting himself at the end of the
first book,
and the publishers might not go for that one. So, does this
mean that
Chandler and Macdonald were not hardboiled, and if not, what
are we left
with?
The problem with quickie definitions is that they leave out
the gray
between the black and white, and both noir and hardboiled
tend to spend a
lot of their plots in the gray of those long, stretched-out
shadows. And
remember, you need both darkness and light to create
shadows.
But if we keep hacking away at it, one day we'll come up with
a short,
concise, all-encompassing definition/catch phrase that even a
Hollywood big
shot could understand, given enough time.
Kevin Smith
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
In the April issue: True Confessions in our P.I. Poll
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