I've always had a weakness for trying out artistic
definitions ("what is hardboiled", "what is rock music",
etc.) Call me goofy, but in a weird way I find it kind of
fun. I do try to restrain myself in public, though. :)
I do think if you think through these things, though, it can
help shed some light on authors and books, help you make
decisions about what's good or bad based on more than "I like
it" or "I don't like it." Of course, everything ultimately
boils down to that, but still, I like to read or hear
opinions that have a certain logic to them. And sometimes you
can surprise yourself. For example, I've changed my mind
about Parker. I used to really hate his stuff, but now I
think he's okay, once you realize that he's not really
writing (at least in my opinion) hardboiled fiction.
(As an aside, I think there are writers out there who are
writing private eye novels that aren't hardboiled. The two
often are conflated but they're not the same thing.)
But which is
> the more interesting
> (and/or productive) question: Is Raymond Carver
(to
> use an arguable case)
> hardboiled? Or: Is Raymond Carver worth
reading?
>
> Dick Lochte
Well, obviously, it depends on the context. If I'm
recommending books to friends, then the second is more
important. If I'm engaging in my peculiar hobby, then the
first -- you always have to test a definition by bringing up
weird cases. In this case, I was responding to someone who
argued that hb was all about the clipped, terse, slangy
peculiarities of the American brand of English. Well, Carver
writes that way, but I've never heard anyone call him
"hardboiled". (For what it's worth, I don't like Carver's
work in any way.)
doug
===== Doug Bassett
dj_bassett@yahoo.com
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