The Professor wrote:
> I think P.D.James and Dashiell Hammett are worlds apart.
Which is what I said. I even used the phrase "worlds apart." I don't
think you'll find anyone here seriously arguing that they're exactly
the same. But my point was that someone who may have enjoyed Hammett
might have also enjoyed James' quite different stab at the same sort
of scenario. Particularly for those possessing a bit of intellectual
curiosity.
> I also think Hammett was the better writer by several orders of
> magnitude. The kind of polite prose the P.D.James is admired for
> does very little for me. ... I frankly don't understand the
> politeness thing when everything else in society has moved towards
> savagery, disorder and rule-bending.
You really need to start hanging out with grown ups, Mario. Get out of
the bunker and take a walk.
Some Americans are, in fact, quite civilized. And prefer it that way.
They're not all violent, anti-intellectual louts. As fun as it may be
to read (and write) about such characters, most Americans (and even
this Canadian) take such stuff with a grain of salt.
Why, a large majority of Americans who bothered to vote even recently
opted for a president who can read.
And many Americans actually still say "please" and "thank you." Why,
just yesterday some customers said it at the store. I heard them.
Although, come to think of it, they might have just been visiting
Canadians.
> Just my two cents, and not really a literary judgement of James, who
> is outside the scope of this list.
"I've said my piece; now it's off-topic"?
Kevin Burton Smith
I blog; therefore I am.
http://thrillingdetectiveblog.blogspot.com
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