Mark wrote:
"This may be veering a little bit off topic -- although
considering the number of Viet Nam vets in hardboiled books
maybe not -- I was wondering how you rate Crumley's One to
Count Cadence (which I keep meaning to read) and Tim
O'Brien's books."
ONE TO COUNT CADENCE is a novel I think that is too often
overlooked. Crumley certainly grew as a writer by the time he
wrote THE LAST GOOD KISS, but I think CADENCE is a good
American military novel from the Vietnam period. Tim O'Brien:
IF I DIE IN A COMBAT ZONE is an excellent Vietnam memoir --
liberal, anti-war Ivy Leaguer "does the right thing" and goes
into the military when he's drafted after college -- and
GOING AFTER CACCIATO struck me as being very good when it
first appeared; it, of course, one the National Book Award
and was considered something of an instant classic when it
appeared, but I don't know how well it's held up with the
passage of time. As I said, I read it when it first came out.
Not to knock CACCIATO at all, but the Anderson, Stone, and
Hasford (and why isn't this book back in print yet?) books
are more down-to-the-bone, more gritty than O'Brien's novel.
I read O'Brien's first four books, but haven't kept up with
him since.
By the way, Crumley's got something in the new ESQUIRE
(January); I haven't read it yet.
Later....Kip
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