Here's my pick for the top 5 novels in the 40s. I would
qualify this pick by noting that I'm not very well-read in
the time frame, with about 15 total. Top pick is NIGHTMARE
ALLEY, descending from there.
NIGHTMARE ALLEY, William Gresham 1946 SOLOMON'S VINEYARD,
Latimer 1941 I, THE JURY, Mickey Spillane 1947 I SPIT ON YOUR
GRAVES, Vian 1946 RIDE THE PINK HORSE, Hughes 1946
NIGHTMARE ALLEY is a spectacular piece of noir.
Spillane's writing might not be topnotch, but I really like
the character of Mike Hammer. Hammer's ugly mad dog attitude
is a far cry from the noble gleam of Marlowe's tarnished
armor. It's a story that needed to be told. Hammer's excesses
are almost poetic.
Vian's work is a shocking, scary, and suspenseful look
into the mind of an insane killer, right up there with
Thompson's KILLER INSIDE ME.
SOLOMON'S VINEYARD is funny, sharp, and exciting. I believe
that he's not entirely serious, and that he's having a little
fun with the genre in this book. But yet the book is not
turned into an insignificant joke.
I could go two ways on RIDE THE PINK HORSE. I could complain
that Sailor walks around the damn town forever without doing
anything, and that the very dynamic relationships he develops
with Pancho and Pila end insignificantly. But Sailor's mind
is tortured by the present and haunted by the past. It's a
good read.
I'd give honorable mention to Homes's BUILD MY GALLOWS HIGH
and Brown's THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT. Homes's prose and story
are both simple and elegant. But did you ever hear David
Allan Coe's perfect country western song? Homes's GALLOWS
seemed like he was trying to write the perfect private eye
noir. Brown's writing is superb and CLIPJOINT is an
entertaining story, but I coulda used a bit more ass-kicking.
God, that's a shallow thing to admit, isn't it?
What are your top picks for the 40s? I'm not trying to
instigate a new list. I'm just fishing for more books to read
and opinions about them.
miker
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