Hey! Isn't this Willeford month? I just finished his New
Forms of Ugly thesis in WRITING AND OTHER BLOOD SPORTS. I saw
it mentioned here on rara-avis many moons ago, but really
became interested in reading it after seeing it referred to
several times in Paul Duncan's NOIR FICTION. The thesis
describes the "immobilized man" in literature, a character
who has a lot in common with the archetype noir
protagonist.
Willeford describes the immobilized man as a person isolated
from the mores of society and with a crippling tendency to
make bad choices in his life, if, indeed, he can make any
choices at all. He views marriage and regular employment as a
fate worse than death. With strong doubts about whether life
is worth living, he harbors self-destructive tendencies,
ranging from antisocial behavior, suicide, and murder with no
attempt to escape the consequences. Camus's THE STRANGER and
McCoy's THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? are good examples of
the latter.
It's been a while since I read NOIR FICTION, but I seem to
recall that Duncan equated the noir protagonist with
Willeford's immobilized man. I don't think that's exactly
correct. Willeford's immobilized man is an artist or writer,
and oftentimes keeps a journal or in some other way records
his thoughts. The only thing valid in life is the artistic
endeavor. A caveat on this is that I noticed Willeford using
several literary examples who weren't artists. After reading
New Forms of Ugly, it's apparent that Willeford's BURNT
ORANGE HERESY is a novel about an immobilized man.
Through all this cold emotional detritus, Willeford's
sophisticated and wicked sense of humor shines like the warm
sun. The guy is gold. He's sharp as hell and displays
considerable insight into some very dark corners or the human
psyche, but he never becomes buried in it.
I recommend reading it although I would note that most of the
authors he discusses lie on the fringe of what most rare
birds would consider hardboiled or noir. Off the top of my
head, a few are John Barth, Jack Kerouac, Saul Bellow,
Nathanael West, Dostoevsky, Camus, Chester Himes, Kafka,
Michael Butor, and Samuel Beckett.
miker
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