That's funny. I'm very much a mainstream literature guy and I think Woolrich writes quite well. The only HB guy I cn think of who actually has good style, in the Gibbon sense, is maybe Hammett. Even Faulkner wasn't there, but you rarely hear Faulkner sneered at as a "bad writer" even though, as a stylist, he certainly was.
James
----- Original Message -----
From: jacquesdebierue
To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 23:27
Subject: Re: willeford RE: RARA-AVIS: recent reads
I've recommended Willeford to people who mostly read mainstream literature and several of them had a bad reaction, even considered that the writing was bad. It depends on what you are looking for and what you're used to. From the first Willeford I read, I was a fan, I tuned into it, saw the talent and the originality. But it's not obvious to everybody, not by any means... Many, many readers are very far from what we consider the great stuff in noir and hardboiled!
Best,
mrt
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