Re: RARA-AVIS: Hammett and... Henry James

From: jacquesdebierue ( jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com)
Date: 21 Nov 2007


--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Patrick King <abrasax93@...> wrote:

> Probably Faulkner's most successful protege, or
> acolyte, anyway, is the American writer, Joyce Carol
> Oates. She's even more prolific than Faulkner was, and
> while her output is uneven in my opinion, her novels
> like WONDERLAND, WE WERE THE MULVANEYS, and MIDDLEAGE
> are as good as anyone's writing at present. Very
> "noir" too. Oats may be the ultimate female "noir"
> writer.

I have tried with Oates, but she remains my bete noire, no pun intended. I find her heavy handed, trying to overtly push a message, and, worst of all, very boring. I did, however, once read an excellent nonfiction article by her. And I also recall an awful article on Chandler (NYRB). Overall, I detect no signs of a talent to put her in a class with Faulkner, or anywhere near.

Is she an acolyte of Faulkner's? That's very surprising.

Best,

mrt



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