mrT says:
>It occurs to me that crime literature may have moved
beyond
>the hardboiled vs. cozy (or dark vs. light,
etc.)
>dichotomy, which was never all that clear-cut to
start
>with.
******************************************
has our use of hardboiled in a literary sense changed over
the years? didn't it previously refer to a book's
description, and not a particular character? wasn't
hardboiled associated with books with features found in
hammett and chandler? like a femme fatale? or a knight in
tarnished armor? an unsentimental view to- wards death,
perhaps? a mystery? sharp, clean prose? an eye towards the
darker side of human nature? and not necessarily all these
features, either, but enough to earn the hardboiled
tag.
maybe thats why its hard to determine if a character is
hardboiled... because actually its a writing style instead of
a personal attribute. so if we would simply quit labelling
characters as hardboiled, and instead judge whether a book is
hardboiled or not, i think maybe all the ambiguity,
disagreement, and social unrest would disappear.
and if you believe this, i have a great real estate deal for
you... right south of key west. ;-)
miker
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