Hi Mark and David-
> From: "David Moran" <
davidm@shakespeare-nyc.com>
> >
> > "The Lady in the Lake" is indeed my favorite
Chandler, though.
> > I think that one still holds up quite
well.
>
> Hmm. Though I disagree (obviously) with David's
overall valuation of
> Chandler's literary worth, I thought I'd put in my
two cents regarding his
> best novels.
>
> My favorites, in order:
> 1. The Long Goodbye
> 2. The Big Sleep
> 3. Farewell, My Lovely
> 4. The Lady in the Lake
>
> The other three are fun reading, but I'd not submit
them as evidence that
> the genre can rise to the level of literture,
whatever that means. I've
> taught the first two several times (in undergraduate
courses). Nearly
every
> student comes away a fan.
As long as we're talking about writers who elevated Crime
fiction to the level of literature, I have to agree on
Chandler's better stuff as an obvious choice, and would also
advance the notion that Hammett's better stuff is too. "The
Glass Key" deals as much with class, society, and early 20th
century machine politics in early 20th century America every
bit as effectively as anything either Dos Passos or Lewis
wrote, and "The Thin Man" is pretty much an early 20th
century comedy of manners. Of course, "The Maltese Falcon" is
"The Maltese Falcon."
All the Best-
Brian Thornton
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