As threatened, I started delving into the Algren holdings of
my library. I brought down his _A Walk on the Wild
Side_
(1956, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy).
In this ultrahardboiled novel, Algren is trying so hard to
depict utter down-and-outers that the effect is half comic.
Lots of whores, bums, pimps, grifters, losers, you name it.
Lots of dialogue in dialect, including some very badly
rendered Spanish.
Here's a sample:
"For a Do-Richt Dadsdy is right fond of money and still he
don't hate fun. He charged the girls double for joint-togs
and drinks, rent, fines, towel service and such. But before
any night's ball was done, he joined in the fun."
Attention Ellroy influence-tracers: it looks like Ellroy has
some Algren literary DNA.
I strongly recommend this book as competition for James
Cain's _Love's Lovely Counterfeit_ for the "best bad noir
novel by a famous guy".
Best,
MrT
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