Juri Nummelin (jurnum@utu.fi)
Fri, 5 Nov 1999 11:55:58 +0200 (EET)
On Thu, 4 Nov 1999, Doug Bassett wrote:
> though, I've always blamed the "sensitive" PI trend
on
> two authors: Robert Parker (with all of that "what
it
> means to be a man and still have a
committed
> relationship" stuff), and, I hate to say it because
I
> really admire his writing generally, Lawrence Block.
I
> think it's undeniable that his Matthew Scudder
series
> has taken a nose-dive in quality ever since
Scudder
> got sober and domesticated.
I agree completely with that. Robert B. Parker and Block are
at their worst almost unbearable (Block is much better in
Tanner novels). In such books as they aim to write there is
no need to tell about the protagonist's attempts to survive
in their everyday life. It just isn't interesting. And same
goes for Howard Engel and Marcia Muller.
And I've always wondered why Matt Scudder and Spenser and
Mark Timlin's PI (I forget the name) always take time to tell
what they wear. In the beginning of "The Big Sleep" Marlowe
tells what he wears, but it tells us about the character and
the mood he's in and how he fits in the landscape, not just
about what he wears. And at least he wears a suit and not
sneakers and jeans! I think a PI must wear a suit!
And I think it's not funny anymore if a PI has problems
paying his bills and stuff. Stuart M. Kaminsky's novels about
Toby Peters are larded with Peters's fussying about the dirty
clothes and unpaid bills and dyspepsia. What's the
point?
Juri jurnum@utu.fi
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