Isn't that the reverse of how Hot Rock came about in the first place? Didn't Westlake start out writing a Parker novel, but it kept turning into comedy?
And if you want to compare the approach of the two, there's always Jimmy the Kid, which alternates chapters of a Parker caper and the Dortmunder Gang's attempt to copy it.
Mark
> To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> From: jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com
> Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 03:21:50 +0000
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Re: On noir and humor
>
> --- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, BaxDeal@... wrote:
>
> >
> > I'm trying to decide if choosing your friends by the smell of his ass is a
> > hardboiled or noirish trait. I'm also a bit pressed to find anything
> > remotely hardboiled in my Bichon Frise. amoral perhaps. but hardboiled, not
> > so much. and I do have to wonder if an individual with 9 lives can truly be
> > doomed. maybe, if you've used up 8. but that's still more chances than
> > most of us get
> >
>
> Well, remember how many times it took the Dortmunder gang to get close to the Hot Rock? One night I started thinking of taking that novel and rewriting it with all the humor taken out. It didn't go beyond theoretical speculation, but I think it could be done. The danger is that it might become a standard "thriller"!
>
> mrt
>
>
>
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