RARA-AVIS: Re: Who don't you like?

From: mattiasjennerholm ( mattias.jennerholm@spray.se)
Date: 29 Jun 2006


--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Jeff Vorzimmer"
<jvorzimmer@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Are there any of the major (or minor) hardboiled and noir
writers you
> > don't like, even though everyone else seems to? I know a number
of folks
> > on the list aren't impressed by John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee
books or
> > most of his others. I was saying earlier that Ken Bruen's early
books
> > disappointed me, and a while back I gave away a Victor Gischler
without

> > finishing it.
>
> John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books
> Raymond Chandler's stories for Black Mask
> The Big Sleep--the book and the movie (Had to read the book twice)
> James Ellroy
> Patricia Highsmith's later novels
> In the Belly of the Beast by Jack Abbott
>
> Great topic. You could also ask what special interests listees
have they
> might not ever speak up about. I guess one of mine would be swamp
lit (or
> backwoods lit). I love novels such as Alter's Swamp Sister and
Whittington's
> A Moment to Prey.
>
> Jeff
>

Interesting question, but a bit difficult because it implies that you have read at least a fair number of books by the author to conclude that she/he actually didn't appeal to you. There are so many potentially interesting books around and no time to waste that I usually only give an author one or two chances, depending on his/her reputation. Easier then to name a few books which so far haven't tempted me to go on:

Pelecanos - The Sweet Forever (no tension, lots of name-dropping)

JDM - Darker than Amber (dull dull dull)

Lehane - Shutter Island (thriller, no HB, still an empty shell of lost possibilities)

Ellroy - Silent Terror (my cheating, but such a crappy book that it would have stopped me reading JE unless I already had read and loved his other books.)

cheers/Mattias

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