Mario Taboada (matrxtech@yahoo.com)
Thu, 30 Dec 1999 20:22:00 -0800 (PST)
Paul Bergin:
<<There are so many talented mid-list authors out there
who are doing viable, and valuable, work that I find the
notion of wasting any more bandwith on a subliterate cretin
like Ellroy offensive.>>
I have to disagree, if only in part: I don't think Ellroy is
subliterate or a cretin. There are two works of his that I
think will make the hardboiled canon: Clandestine and The Big
Nowhere, especially the latter. Ellroy himself has said that
his work is self-exploitation; my fear, which I have
expressed here before, is that he has written himself
out.
He has a humorous vein that, if anything, surpasses his
ability to write ultraviolent and sadistic scenes. I believe
he could do great comic work if he would let himself. As far
as I'm concerned, he has already done his share in the
hardboiled field.
Like him or not, he is a living classic. How many crime
authors of his generation have achieved that? I don't think
his success is purely a result of self-promotion. There's a
lot of talent there, and a lot of hard work. Admittedly,
there is also a lot of tiresome puffery and self-inflation,
but nobody said great writers have to be likable public
people.
End of rant, to be continued.
mt
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu 30 Dec 1999 - 23:23:38 EST