When I first discovered noir fiction, I was both repelled and
attracted by the tragic stories. Looking for some direction
for other noir novels to read and opinions on their
significance, I was lucky to find Paul Duncan's book on the
subject. This slim volume contains a wealth of information on
noir writers, along with a definition and brief history of
the genre. The huge number of noir novels cited is a boon for
the initiate reader, especially the ones that stray from the
standard fare.
Duncan begins the book with a definition of noir fiction:
"Noir is not a kind of macho Hard-Boiled fiction where Tough
Guys pass judgement on an immoral society. Noir is about the
weak-minded, the losers, the bottom-feeders, the obsessives,
the compulsives and the psychopaths. Noir is not about people
standing on the edge of the abyss looking in, but about the
people in it, forever writhing, aware of the pain, aware of
future pain to come." I came upon this soon after I embarked
on the noir nightmare, and in the ensuing years I have never
come across a finer definition. It is worth noting that
Duncan's definition stands as a controversial opinion, since
Duncan is very specifically excluding much of the hardboiled
detective novels, such as those of Hammett and Chandler,
which have been adapted to movies that fall firmly within the
category of film noir. Why Duncan rejects the purely
hardboiled as noir becomes evident in his exploration of its
roots in fiction.
Discussing its origin, Duncan points out that the first use
of noir in relation to fiction is the French phrase Roman
Noir, used to describe the Gothic tradition that began with
Walpole's The Castle of Otranto in 1764. Cast in a medieval
setting, Gothic evoked a mood of gloom and covert danger,
exploring themes such as mistaken identity, doomed love, and
the supernatural. Although Duncan chooses not to elaborate,
besides spooky entertainment, Gothic literature represented a
philosophic rejection of the optimistic claims of the
Enlightenment, that Kant's rationalism and and the newly
found scientific method would elevate man to a new pinnacle
of civilization. Gothic either ignored the benefits of
science or else cast it in an evil light, such as in
Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818. The dark and
foreboding castle passageways in Gothic became the dark and
foreboding alleyways in noir. In addition to its Gothic
roots, Duncan notes the influence of the American
Naturalists, German Expressionists, the French
Existentialists, American hardboiled, and the Proletarian
writers.
The most significant nonfiction work cited in Noir Fiction is
Charles Willeford's essay New Forms of Ugly, in which he
outlines the characteristics of what he calls the immobilised
man, a description that Duncan correctly identifies as
closely paralleling the symptoms of the noir protagonist.
Duncan agrees with Willeford's assessment of Dostoevsky's
Notes From the Underground (1864) as an example of an
immobilised man, and suggests the novel as a prototype for
contemporary noir. Alienation, doubt, and anxiety permeates
the text, and a crippling freedom seems inescapable. Two
years later Dostoevsky followed with one of the greatest
psychological studies of the criminal mind, Crime and
Punishment. Although Raskolnikov's existential rebellion
against morality ends with a neat spiritual salvation, the
questions raised in the novel are not so easily
resolved.
Duncan mentions Joseph Conrad as another early novelist who
explored noir themes. He notes that while Dostoevsky's view
is from the inside, Marlow's view of Kurtz's horrors in Heart
of Darkness is from the outside. Indeed, although Marlow
observes carefully, he never fully understands Kurtz's
capacity for evil or even his motivation. Duncan is not
overly troubled by the ambiguities of the novel, but he does
note that Malrow is able to make a clear distinction between
social restraints and a man's inner restraint.
Conrad names Kurtz a hollow man. He lacks the inner
restraint necessary to govern himself once he is outside the
boundaries of the law. Duncan's interpretation of Kurtz's
famous words, "The horror. The horror!" as a recognition of
the wrong he has done, is interesting. I have always seen it
as a comment on the existential void that man faces, without
the implication of a confession.
Duncan separates noir fiction into five eras, ranging through
depression, fear, paranoia, apathy, and amorality. Duncan
identifies the theme of the first noir era as depression and,
bracketed within the 1930s, it perhaps has as much to do with
economics as it does with a mindset. He discusses some of the
great noir authors of this period, including Nathanael West,
James Cain, and Horace McCoy. In the 1940s he characterizes
fear as the dominant theme, invoking both the highly literary
works of Camus, such as The Trial and The Outsider, and the
lowly cult work of Boris Vian, his notorious I Spit on Your
Grave. This time frame also encompasses Gresham's Nightmare
Alley, a spectacular novel and an equally spectacular movie.
Gerald Kersh and Cornell Woolrich also fall within this
period.
Coinciding with Joe McCarthy and the Red Scare, Duncan
describes the 1950s as paranoid. Although Jim Thompson's work
spanned several decades, Duncan places him within the context
of the 1950s, the decade that produced his most famous work,
The Killer Inside Me. David Goodis also falls within his
1950s discussion. The fourth period roughly spans two
decades, from 1960 to 1978, and Duncan equates this era with
apathy. Duncan discusses several authors within this period,
notably Patricia Highsmith and Charles Willeford. Although
the final period encompasses the greatest time period,
stretching from 1978 to 2000 (the year Noir Fiction was
published), Duncan finds time to portray only two noir
authors, James Ellroy and Derek Raymond, with amorality as
the dominant theme.
There are flaws in even the most perfect gem. The lives of
many noir authors might parallel the characters in their
books, but much of the biographical information that Duncan
provides could have been sacrificed to a more thorough
discussion of noir. In genre discussions, it is not uncommon
to pass over the actual literary quality of the work. Duncan
subscribes to this, so without previous knowledge of the
books he describes, it's difficult to know the relative
strength of a work. Lowbrow selections like Chase's Orchids
for Miss Blandish and Vian's I Spit on Your Grave stand on
level ground with solid literary works by Camus and
Dostoevsky. In such a broad survey it is always tempting to
protest the selection of books mentioned, and invariably a
reader's favorites are passed over for unknown or lesser
choices. In what is obviously meant to be a work where
brevity is virtue, this type of complaint doesn't carry much
weight. Although his five thematic divisions of noir are
arbitrary at best, his discussion of its relationships to
Gothic, Expressionism, Naturalism, and Existentialism
succeeds in illuminating the dark passages of noir, lending
both historical and philosophical depth to the genre. The
bottom line is that this book is one of the best introductory
books on the subject of noir fiction.
miker
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