--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Nathan Cain"
<IndieCrime@...> wrote:
>
> I think a lot of people have a hard time connecting
with Starr's
> protagonists because they tend to be jerks of the
highest order. His
stories
> are often like watching a train wreck. I'm not
entirely sure it would be
> normal to feel too much for them. They tend to bring
their fates on
> themselves.
>
I'm not sure that the protagonists are jerks of such a high
order compared to your ordinary contemporary person. You
don't always see your ordinary person neighbor, friend or
coworker acting to the maximum of their jerkiness, but that
doesn't mean they're not capable. What is true is that Starr
narrates coldly, with a certain distance, and this is for me
a great virtue. You could tell the same story at a much
higher temperature but then you would go into Thompson
territory
(which has its dangers).
And surely one would not expect sympathetic protagonists in a
compact, pure noir novel, which is what Starr writes.
Best,
mrt
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