I recognize this. On the other hand, Ian Fleming, who should
know, said that in order to write this kind of fiction, one
had to have an adolescent mind. I think the popularity of
Spillane's work speaks to the adolescent minds of the buying
public. I also doubt that if someone wrote like that today,
they'd experience the same success. My generation, known as
the baby boom generation, out numbered our parents 3 to 1. At
that time we were the largest generation of teens in history.
I may be wrong, but I suspect the sales of Spillane's 60s
novels owe their success to kids like me buying them, rather
than an adult audience. His popularity at that time is
unquestioned. I loved them as a kid. As an adult, I can't
make it through a first chapter without smirking at the
absurdity and putting the book down. Edgar Rice Burroughs I
can still read because ERB is based on suspension of belief.
Spillane is realistically gritty, but patently absurd. For
me, the work doesn't hold up.
Patrick King
--- Michael Robison <
miker_zspider@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Patrick King wrote:
>
> To my mind, Mickey Spillane is not for
adult
> consumption.
>
> ******************
> His I, The Jury became a world record
bestselling
> novel. I just mentioned that a few days ago but
I
> figure it's worth repeating. So whether we like
him
> or not, his writing stands as a major
American
> phenomenon. It is possible that his work will
lose
> its original appeal and become nothing more
than
> period pieces. Nevertheless, in the time that
he
> wrote, he struck a powerful chord with his
audience.
>
> miker
>
>
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