Hard to take any list without Maltese Falcon leading it too seriously.
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Michael S. Chong"
<menglish47@...> wrote:
>
> From Newsweek dated Sep 29, 2008
> http://www.newsweek.com/id/160097
>
> My Five Most Important Crime Novels
>
>
> 1.
> "
> The Long Goodbye
> " by Raymond Chandler. A melancholic ode to loss and the
passage of time.
>
> 2.
> "
> The Burglar
> " by David Goodis. Hypnotic prose and a shocking ending.
Call it pulp if you have the need to. It's disturbing art.
>
>
> 3.
> "The Last Good Kiss" by James Crumley. The post-Vietnam
stunner that reinvigorated the genre and jacked up a generation of
future crime novelists.
>
>
> 4. "Swag" by Elmore Leonard. Down-and-dirty, this one
smokes front to back, and the voice is one of a kind.
>
>
> 5. "Clockers" by Richard Price. My generation's "Grapes
of Wrath."
>
> A CLASSIC YOU'VE REVISITED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT: "The
Godfather" by Mario Puzo. Except for the page that features Sonny and
the bridesmaid. That page never disappoints.
>
> A BOOK YOU HOPE PARENTS READ TO THEIR KIDS: "True Grit" by
Charles Portis. A great adult novel with a strong, teenage female
protagonist.
> ***Interesting choices... I'm surprised Pelecanos did not include
Newton Thornburg's "Cutter and Bone" for which he wrote an
introduction for a reissue.
> Michael
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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