> > > As for D. H. Lawrence and "the great wrong
place," check out his STUDIES
> > > IN CLASSIC AMERICAN LITERATURE. And that's
where you'll find out that
> > > Natty Bumppo is the true ancestor of Mike
Hammer.
> >
> > He's the true ancestor of almost every private
eye.
In response to the above, Mark B. wrote:
>If that's so, I I wonder what Mark Twain would have
said about his Natty's
>descendents?
>
>I guess I'm getting critic happy the last couple of
days, but that comment
>certainly shouldn't be too obscure for this
list.
Sorry, Mark, but that's James Fenimore Cooper's Natty Bumpo,
not Twain's. Twain's the one who dubbed Cooper's
Leatherstocking Tales the "Snapping Twig Saga" or something
like that, in an essay, right?
And, um, I'm glad D.H. Lawrence agrees with me that Natty
Bumpo was an early P.I. That's the Lady Chatterly's Lover
guy, not Peter O'Toole, right?
And Juri chimed in with:
>What I was saying about
>Hammett's and Lovecraft's relationship to all this
was that they break
>the dichotomy by saying that even the healing nature
has been
>damaged. The nature is all the same satanic
mill.
Hmmm...not news to us Canadians. If I remember my classes in
Mrs. Ticehurst's North American Lit class correctly, nature
has always been something of a Great Wrong, or at least
Dangerous Place, in much of our literature. And the idea's
certainly not limited to CanLit. As far as the idea of nature
as the Great Wrong Place goes, there's also James Dickey's
DELIVERANCE, Robert Parker's WILDERNESS and Joe Lansdale's
(him again!) SAVAGE SEASON, three good, tough examples off
the top of my head (though DELIVERANCE is a bit too artsy to
be truly hard-boiled -- Dickey makes Ross Macdonald look like
Hammett). All great stuff, though, to read on a camping
trip.
Hmmm...I'm getting way too literary here. If I don't shut up
soon, people will think I know what I'm talking about....but
thanks for putting up with me, and I hope I passed the
audition.
Kevin Burton Smith The Thrilling Detective Web Site http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
Now: The last few days to vote for The Thrillies. Soon: The
P.I. Poll on Short Fiction, plus new stuff of our own.
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