When I was in high school I raced through all the Lew Archer books and loved them, with The Chill being my favorite. Something about the common sins of the father theme running through them, and all the sin and guilt that these characters are desperately trying to keep hidden. I think it was these books more than any other that made me want to be a writer. A year or so ago I read a Ross Macdonald short story where the writing felt very stilted to me, then tried picking up The Chill and also found the writing stilted. Maybe it was the mood I was in, and will try one of his books again.
I agree also there's a strong noirish element to his books, but I'd classify them as hardboiled PI. On the other hand, almost every one of them could be rewritten as pure noir by changing the perspective.
--Dave
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "wamartin2@..." <wamartin2@...> wrote:
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> --- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, Don Lee <donthepoet@> wrote:
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> > So is Ross Macdonald noir? I know Lew Arch is a recurring character, therefore survives each tale automatically, but the overall stories seem pretty much wrapped up in doomed repressed family histories etc., which all seems kinda noir-ish to me.
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> > Don
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> -------I first read Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer novels in the 1960's and 1970's and thought they were all excellent and at or near the same level as Chandler and Hammett.
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> Recently I've reread five of the novels and am enjoying them even more on a second or third reading. I intend to reread the others also. You are definitely right in thinking the Lew Archer novels are noirish. Though the lead character is a private eye, the novels are really about the corrupting influence of money, the power of sex, and the influence of the dark past. Add the haunted characters acting out their doomed lives, the shadowy atmosphere, and you have a series of novels that are full of noir elements.
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> ---Walker Martin.
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