<<HIGH NOON AT MIDNIGHT features Avallone's private eye
Ed Noon but it also has Gary Cooper as a major character and
there are aliens and...well, it is one of the most surreal
things I have ever read. No one should have published it. I
can't imagine anyone not rejecting it. But the Palmers had
the guts to buy it and publish it. Is it a work of great
literary merit? No. But it is more interesting, fascinating
really, than 90 percent of the crap that is published. The
Palmers recognized that and made the great
leap.>>
I agree. Whatever his faults, Avallone did not lack
personality. That's what I find lacking in the 90% sector:
books that are read (if you can make it through the end,
which isn't always) and then donated to the Salvation Army,
leaving no memory of human contact(which is what literature
is about). I am talking about fiction, but the same applies,
in a lesser degree, to nonfiction (though you can argue that,
for example, a self-help book tries to convey some
instructions rather than make human contact. But enough of
that. Fiction isn't about conveying information.)
And with that horrendous cacophony of parentheses (Strunk,
White, Fowler, CMoS, shut up this once) I conclude this
screed, screech. I'll be off the list while resting up for a
couple of months. I wish you all a good break and a great
next year.
And to our leader, Captain Bill, the praise that is due for
creating and then skillfully steering a friendly,
knowledgeable and incorruptible forum.
Best regards,
MrT
=====
"Don't just do something, sit there!" Thich Nhat Hanh
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