I've just started reading "The Goodbye Look" and I'm really
enjoying it, but I do find it slightly dated in some ways,
but overall it seems to be holding up rather well.
Harry Lerner
Quoting "James R. Winter" <
winter_writes@earthlink.net>:
>
>
> It's no secret Ross MacDonald was copping Chandler
in his first five
> novels. It's
> also no secret that Ross was sometimes better at it
than Chandler.
> THE MOVING TARGET,
> THE DROWNING POOL, and THE WAY SOME PEOPLE DIE all
have a depth
> seldom matched up
> to that point. And yet we also know in what
direction RM was heading.
>
> THE DOOMSTERS and THE GALTON CASE are considered to
be MacDonald's
> break from the
> Chandler tradition, but after reading THE IVORY GRIN
(aka MARKED FOR
> MURDER) this
> weekend, I firmly believe the change began much
earlier.
>
> THE IVORY GRIN uses several established cliches. A
mysterious woman
> hires Lew Archer
> to find a missing servant who's absconded with some
jewelry. Add in
> a missing wealthy
> heir, the mob, a sleazy competing private eye, and
one femme fatale,
> and you have
> the basic formula for your average pulp novel. But
Ross MacDonald is
> not your average
> pulp writer. He takes these standard stock
characters, throws them
> in the blender,
> and hits frappe to come up with an early prototype
of the classic
> Ross MacDonald
> novel.
>
> About 50 pages into THE IVORY GRIN, we've gone from
finding the
> missing servant
> to young black girl on the run in 1950's rural
California to the
> search for a missing
> son. As with THE MOVING TARGET and THE DROWNING
POOL, it's really
> about family
> secrets. And now, Lew Archer is starting to detach
from the people
> he's investigating,
> a rogue element that either brings things into focus
or knocks down
> the house of
> cards, depending on who you are in the
story.
>
> MacDonald's real strength here is characterization.
On the surface,
> this is a so-so
> detective novel with a stock plot. But you
understand what moves and
> motivates
> everyone involved. MacDonald is keenly aware of
personality types
> and nails each
> and every one. Max Heiss, the competing unlicensed
PI after nothing
> more than a
> fast buck and maybe a quick lay, is especially
vivid. This guy's a
> scum bag, but
> he has no clue because his entire worldview revolves
around the next
> payoff. It
> doesn't even occur to him that losing his license
should have knocked
> him out of
> the game.
>
> THE IVORY GRIN is not the best Lew Archer story, but
it's a damn
> sight better than
> a lot of contemporary books written. Not quite
FAREWELL, MY LOVELY
> or THE MALTESE
> FALCON, but very good writing and a peak at how one
of the masters
> evolved.
>
> Tune in tomorrow when I dish on Spillane's VENGEANCE
IS MINE (or VIM,
> if you're into abbreviating it. So far, I'm liking
it a lot.)
>
> Jim Winter
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Harry Lerner PhD Candidate Department of Anthropology McGill
University Montreal, Quebec Canada
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 29 Nov 2004 EST