Re: RARA-AVIS: form/formula

From: William Ahearn ( williamahearn@yahoo.com)
Date: 28 Jan 2008


--- DJ-Anonyme@webtv.net wrote:

> William,
>
> Clearly, you and I part on a lot of issues, but I
> don't really disagree
> with your categorizations here. Yes, Rebus is
> genre, one of the best if
> you're into that kind of thing. You're not, I am,
> different strokes.

Issues lead to some kind of clarity and that's the reason that I enjoy and appreciate this list so much. It's not that I'm not into genre -- or mac and cheese for that matter -- it's when it gets confused with a meal that I take umbrage.
>
  Although I enjoy Bruen's various
> series, I totally
> see why you do not.

I own several Bruen books and all of them are from the series. While I in fact read them I have an issue with those who insist that it is noir or new or somehow a resurrection of a traditional crime writer sensibility. It is what it is and my whole point in bitching about Bruen is that he's tapped into a market and my hat's off to him but it's off for being clever and not for being what everybody seems to think he's doing.

> Anyway, sometimes I want to read something new,
> interesting,
> challenging, etc, hence my request for
> recommendations of this sort.
> But other times I just want a genre piece, as a sort
> of comfort food. I
> get that "comfortable" is probably a literary insult
> in your mind. As
> I said, different strokes.

I totally agree. And that's why I have a shelf full of 87th Precinct novels. At one time it may have been Christie or Blake or Kotzwinkle or Iceberg Slim. No argument at all.
>
>
> ps Although I also cannot stand Vachss's Burke
> books, they weren't
> written to impres his wife. He worked with
> endangered kids long before
> they came together; in fact, as I understand it,
> they met through their
> work, her as prosecutor, him as a child advocate,
>
Maybe that's correct. I don't know enough to argue articulately with you. But I always found something false about him and not just in style. He gave me the heebie-jeebies but it wasn't the content, it was the package.

William

Essays and Ramblings
<http://www.williamahearn.com>

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