Kevin wrote:
"There is a sort of cultural voice that is rarely heard, and
usually ignored, a post-Boom generation rock'n'roll pop
culture sensibility . .
. that has had little crime fiction to call its own."
Well, Michael Cormany briefly filled that gap. I still
remember how his PI used a cop's mispronunciation of the band
Husker Du as the signifier separating the cool PI from the
stodgy cop. He and Pelacanos' Stefanos books have a lot in
common and given Pelacanos' affection for the 'Mats they also
seem to have a lot of music in common. I first heard about
Iris Dement in one of Cormany's books.
Still, I agree with Kevin that the Brits have been better at
creating a distinct generation of younger crime writers. Too
many American writers seem too aware of fitting into a
tradition, while the Brits take a more punk attitude of
messing with the conventions. And I thought the stereotype
was that Brits were stuffy and we were the young snotty
upstarts.
"I belong to the Blank Generation!"
"We're so pretty, were so pretty . . . vacant!"
Mark
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