tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post5058199503509885362..comments2023-08-02T14:53:17.253+02:00Comments on At the Villa Rose: Not So SimpleXavierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05702919450638993709noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-83007819940787380142018-06-04T09:21:19.720+02:002018-06-04T09:21:19.720+02:00One thing I do have to say for Chandler - he was b...One thing I do have to say for Chandler - he was better than Hammett. Anything's better than Hammett's nihilism.<br /><br />Chandler is also not as awful as, to take another example, Jim Thompson.<br /><br />In fact as hardboiled writers go Chandler isn't so bad. His influence though was almost entirely harmful.dfordoomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02306293859869179118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-18813632772953132022018-05-22T04:53:54.431+02:002018-05-22T04:53:54.431+02:00Your expression "noirheads" made me chuc...Your expression "noirheads" made me chuckle!<br /><br />Also, I agree that having the books speak for themselves is the best way to correct misconceptions, and that this increasingly likely with old titles getting in print again. Hopefully the situation will evolve from a negative into a positive feedback loop among [greater/better] supply of high quality GAD, [enhanced] popularity (I.e., commercial success), and [renewed] critical appreciation. The success of the British Library reprints combined with the prestige of its publisher gives some reasons for optimism.Christophehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978885973806549838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-724117573866071402018-05-22T00:49:13.208+02:002018-05-22T00:49:13.208+02:00And is a Georgian mansion or a Nile cruise any les...And is a Georgian mansion or a Nile cruise any less real than an America overrun by gangsters? It's an odd sort of inverted snobbery.Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-55808786888226341252018-05-22T00:11:08.459+02:002018-05-22T00:11:08.459+02:00Correction: Anyone with power and money is corrupt...Correction: Anyone with power and money is corrupt and evil.Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-73882097330613112162018-05-22T00:04:30.379+02:002018-05-22T00:04:30.379+02:00Hear, hear! An over-rated writer, with a thoroughl...Hear, hear! An over-rated writer, with a thoroughly pernicious influence on authors and critics alike.<br /><br />His plots lack focus; they're loosely-woven set-pieces, rather than a coherent narrative.<br />His worldview appeals to adolescents and high-brows: life is awful, the rich and powerful are in control, the police are corrupt, the women are bad, and the little man doesn't have a chance. Let us overthrow the system!<br />His style is over-descriptive, his sentences staccato, and his metaphors strained. For good writing, see, for instance, John Dickson Carr, G.K. Chesterton, Nicholas Blake, or Gladys Mitchell.<br /><br />Besides, as has been pointed out, who says fiction ever wanted to be realistic? Believable, yes, but the fantastic can be believable. It just takes skill.<br /><br />And haven't you yourself said that Chandler was the enemy of imagination?<br /><br />And his notion of "realism" is limited; why should a genre be limited to the mean streets of California? Surely one of detective fiction's great points is that it can do anything, go anywhere, so long as there is a problem to solve.<br /><br />Reginald Hill and Isaac Asimov set fair-play detective stories in outer space in the far future; plenty of writers have set murder mysteries in the ancient past; and no doubt there are some in fantasy. (A couple of Terry Pratchetts, I know.)<br /><br />But it's received wisdom - and received wisdom has, as you say, the patina of truth. Same thing with music. Ever tried arguing with a Wagnerian? I don't recommend it; a more dogmatic, hysterical, fanatical, and close-minded bunch it's hard to find.<br /><br />Oh, and I like Mike's "lagniappe"!Nick Fullerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668031989499870182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-4871775080323461042018-05-21T21:21:02.954+02:002018-05-21T21:21:02.954+02:00Hello James,
The link was indeed incorrect, I hav...Hello James,<br /><br />The link was indeed incorrect, I have fixed it and it should work now. Thanks for noticing (and reading)!Xavierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05702919450638993709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-59189427518773565282018-05-21T20:53:57.020+02:002018-05-21T20:53:57.020+02:00Hello Xavier... I think the link to The Big Sleep ...Hello Xavier... I think the link to The Big Sleep review is incorrect... it keeps taking me to Ripley’s Wiki page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4953280070115140001.post-59023498237097775832018-05-21T17:14:53.109+02:002018-05-21T17:14:53.109+02:00Xavier - What can I say but that you've nailed...Xavier - What can I say but that you've nailed it perfectly. I've always found Chandler's careless plotting to be his worst characteristic; certainly the man could write and write well, but as I've asserted previously, in a detective fiction work plot is PRIMARY while the other aspects, e.g. style and characterization, are SECONDARY, the reverse of a mainstream writer's concerns. When done well, as Chandler demonstrated, style, characterization, etc. can become delightful lagniappe, but they will never replace a solid, coherent plot. - MikeMike Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182471386130948540noreply@blogger.com