miker:
Interesting post.
I just finished reading Ross Macdonald's A MOVING TARGET
(1949) and thought about the metaphors/similes you write
about here. RM's prose here is liberally sprinkled with them.
Most are restrained enough so it was more the volume of them
that jarred the narrative's smoothness.
For instance, at one place he writes about the "acne of rust"
on an automobile. That's short and vivid.
Still, reading RM is always a real treat.
Ed Lynskey
--- Robison Michael R CNIN <
Robison_M@crane.navy.mil> wrote:
>A while ago Mario had mentioned the two schools
of
> hardboiled writing,
> with Twain/Hammett/Hemingway on one side of the
fence belting
> it out sharp
> and clean, and Chandler on the other with soulful
melody
> swimming in a sea
> of similes (shoot me). Mario's advice to
writer-hopefuls was
> to stick with
> THH, simply because it's easier to write and has a
potentially
> longer shelf
> life.
>
> Ever since Mario pointed that out, I've been more
aware of the
> simile/metaphor count in what I read.
=====
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