Bill wrote
> Have their been any noir or HB works directly
inspired by, or
retelling,
> stories from the Bible?
Stephen King's GREEN MILE is a retelling of the gospels. John
Coffee has miraculous healing powers, he's killed for a crime
of which he's innocent, etc. GREEN MILE is also, if not noir,
at least pretty dark. However, I haven't read the book; my
comments are based on the film version, though I've been told
that the film represents the book relatively
faithfully.
Note also Coffee's initials--as an English teacher, I've
learned to pay close attention to any character with the
initials J.C.; they often represent some sort of messiah or
savior figure. (A well-known example is Jim Casey in GRAPES
OF WRATH.)
To the writers on the list: someone certainly ought to
re-write King David's life as a noir. He's a great hero, but
with serious flaws of his own. His own family plots against
him. His son Amnon rapes his own sister, Tamar. Come on,
where's James Cain when you need him?
(And note his initials too...hmmmm...but perhaps I'm taking
this a little far.)
And speaking of James M. Cain and incest, Bill's question
includes other ancient literature. Signet Books included an
explanation of Cains' THE BUTTERFLY as being "a modern
version of the Oedipus myth." However, although the book has
something to do with incest, I don't see it as having much to
do with Oedipus beyond that. I suspect that the publisher was
trying to pre-empt critics who would question the morality of
the novel by tying to an established classic.
G.
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