Re: RARA-AVIS: recent reads

From: Jeff Vorzimmer ( jvorzimmer@austin.rr.com)
Date: 16 May 2007


> Yeah, I liked it too. Struck me as a combination of Manhattan Manners
> (Sex in the City) and New York Gothic (Bonfire of the Vanities)
> deftly told with Jason's patented noir twist. We're going to have to
> start calling it Starr Noir soon, he keeps this up.

Very well put. The Tom Wolfe analogy is apt and I've mentioned here previously. It certainly was true of his last two books--Twisted City and Lights Out. Twisted City seemed like Jason imitating Wolfe and eventually getting so good at it that Lights Out seemed like Jason Starr imitating Tom Wolfe imitating Jason Starr. Like he was alternating teaming up with Wolfe as well as Bruen.

Aside from the obvious similarities to Bonfire of the Vanities, there is another striking parallel to Wolfe in that, as Jason becomes more successful, he writes characters that are further and further up the social strata with each novel. It was like Wolfe writing from the perspective of Leonard Berstein's high-rise apartment. I miss the grittiness of Jason's early novels--the bars . . . the racetrack.

Jason, feel free to jump in here and defend yourself.

Jeff



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