--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Dave Zeltserman"
<dz@...> wrote:
>
> Mr T: your thoughts on Rex Stout? To me, the way he
blended hardboiled
> with classic English Mystery in his Nero Wolfe books
was masterful, and
> stylistically pitch perfect.
I haven't read him for a long time, though I did devour his
novels at one point. I would agree with you, but from the
distance imposed by memory. If you're going to include Stout,
I don't see how you can avoid Erle Stanley Gardner
(especially writing as A.A. Fair). Smooth as hell.
>
> Another point about Block--I suspect that his hitman
stories are a riff
> on the Continental Op. Btw. I can't argue too much
about either Leonard
> and Willeford--their writing is direct, highly
readable, but in my
> opinion doesn't have that smooth, almost magical
flow that Block's
> writing has, but then again, few writers
do.
I know exactly what you're talking about. Mastery. Le Carré ¨as
the same kind of mastery, albeit in quite a different genre.
As told, the guy crossing the street seems as interesting as
the guy getting killed... When that happens, what I suspect
is very careful planning and lots of rewriting-- like
Hitchcock in his films.
Best,
mrt
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