--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Geoff Eighinger"
<geoffeighinger@...> wrote:
>
> When it comes to crime fiction...
>
> What does "noir" mean to you?
>
> What does "hard-boiled" mean to you?
>
> I ask this because at my blog I am reviewing all sorts of crime
fiction that is noir or hard-
> boiled to me but maybe borderline to some.
>
Many of us have given thoughtful and carefully considered answers to
these existential questions. Unfortunately, I have no idea which
thoughtful and carefully considered answers I may have offered over
the years. Therefore, my contributions are likely to be bullshit (be
warned).
What is clear and has never caused argument is that hardboiled and
noir are not the same, though they can be both ingredients in
different literary alloys.
On the other hand, the one that wasn't included in the previous two
paragraphs: surely we don't expect that every word has a well-defined
thing corresponding to it, do we? If it were so, we could's speak of
"around New York", for example, or "people like me", etc.
I think it's perfectly fine if people declare a story or film to be
noir or noirish. It is evocative and can even be stirring without
necessarily suggesting a known model. Like party platforms or romantic
getaways.
Best,
mrt
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 09 Nov 2008 EST