miker wrote:
"My point is that if you don't understand the musical
references, then an important part of the book is closed to
you. A typical reader cannot
"open" himself to the era because the references are obscure.
Pelecanos is only evoking the era to those who already know
about it. And I am only talking about the narrow sense of the
music references here, too. The alcohol, drugs, and racial
tension come through loud and clear even for the musically
challenged."
Let me draw an analogy. I don't drink, so I am largely
unaware of and indifferent to names of drinks and brands of
alcohol. In case you haven't noticed, these come up a lot in
hardboiled books, including, if not especially those of
Pelecanos. However, I far prefer the use of detail, even if
it passes me by. It's kind of like that (probably apocryphal)
story that eskimos have a slew of different words for snow
because of its ubiquity in their lives. Drinkers and drug
users have a nuanced language for their obsessions. Even if
they mean little to me, the specific names show the
importance of alcohol to the characters.
So even if many of the specific musicians and/or songs
mentioned by Pelecanos pass by some readers, doesn't the
detail still reveal the importance of music to those
characters and, as Kevin has pointed out, their generation.
While alllowing that Pelecanos does have a tendency to lay it
on a little thick, (even if I get a kick out of the lists, in
a hardboiled High Fidelity kind of way), wouldn't you rather
the specifics than, "They all liked music a lot." And those
who do know the specific references get a little extra
glimpse into the characters through their taste.
Mark
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