Brian Thornton wrote:
> I don't like Pelecanos' writing for some of the
reasons
> Maviano mentions (the way he sets up the conflict in
his books, the
> 'acting
> tough' as opposed to 'being tough' part as well. It
just rings false
> to
> me).
Ignoring Trevor Maviano (who seems to have been having fun
jerking the interviewer around) this a great discussion of
Pelecanos. I've reviewed two of his books when I was writing
for January magazine, and am a fan, with some reservations.
Brian hit it right on the head with the comment about
Pelecanos' characters: "the 'acting tough' as opposed to
'being tough' part." That's what has made me uneasy about
Pelecanos' earlier protagonists (Nick Stefanos, Dimitri
Karras). They're very much of the post-modern era. My take is
that he's trying to set them up to transcend their own jive
at key points in the series-and I admire his character
development. What's really sold me on Pelecanos, though, is
his use of the soul-less DC setting. DC (where I grew up) is
an utterly tragic city, corruption at both ends of the
socioeconomic scale and then this very silent middle class,
black and white, turning the cogs of the machinery. Pelecanos
brings me back to DC--Georgetown, the shockingly Southern
redneck towns just beyond the city, the baked-out
projects--time and time again. For that, I can forgive some
posturing from his anti-heroes.
Karen
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