> Well, Mike, this Leftist don' like the vigilantism,
the convenient
moral
> superiority, nor the broad caricatures that are most
of the characters
> (though that may be the lit snob in me). That and
the general
goofiness, yet
> deadly earnestness. Bad mix. I've been meaning to
get to his
non-series
> work and his Lansdale collaboration. TM
>
I think we have similar views about Vachss' work (as do,
apparently, several others here) so let me reiterate the
suggestion made by someone
(Mark?) earlier in this thread - Shella. I'm not a fan of the
Burke books, the combination of serious issues such as child
sexual abuse and the comic book / pulp fiction approach don't
work but Shella (and some of his shorts I've read) is
something else. IMO one of the best noir novels of
(comparatively) recent times. On the topic of left/right
political orientation I don't see Vachss as a lefty. His
vigilantism would not sit well with most leftys, I would
think. I can't speak for the US but in my corner of the world
respecting people of different cultures and moral indignation
about child abuse would be considered mainstream thinking
these days. (It wasn't always the case of course. This
country went through profound social change beginning in the
70's.) Paradoxically, at a time when the traditional left has
all but shrivelled away, the social norm ("politically
correct" as it's often referred to) has moved to a place that
was considered left-wing when I was a kid. I copped a lot of
flak as a school kid for espousing ideas such as equal pay
for women, civil rights for gays and opposing the Vietnam
War. These ideas are all pretty much the norm here now but
when I was a kid it got me branded as a troublemaker at
school - the concept of political correctness is nothing new
- the only thing that is changed is the notions of what is
correct.
Rene
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