<<I used to read Wetering alongside Sjowall and
Wahloo's Martin Beck series and Nicholas Freeling, whose Van
der Valk procedurals are also set in Amsterdam
(recommend Apres De Ma Blonde or Criminal Conversation). None
hesitates at graphic description, but the outlook and style
are more "European"--world-weary with some yields of
hope.>>
All of the named authors are excellent. The attitude is more
one of observing what's going on, rather than acting. It's a
cold kind of fiction, but it has the potential for moving. It
cannot be a coincidence that K.C. Constantine is revered in
Europe, or so I hear. Another excellent US author with a
similar perspective is James Sallis. Don't look for joy or
heroic deeds.
We need a name for this kind of fiction that watches life
dispassionately and avoids heroes and heroism entirely. I
half-heartedly propose the adjective "Simenonal" or
"Simenonic". It could be called "existentialist", but the
term has lost its punch, unfortunately.
Regards,
MrT
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