My biggest objection is one that I find hard to define. I want to say that both writers give ample details about their characters and settings, but Chandler gives the right details where Clark gives the wrong ones. To better reveal this I have chosen two selections from the books below.
Chandler:
"A long limbed languorous type of showgirl blonde lay at her ease in one of the chairs, with her feet raised on a padded rest and a tall misted glass at her elbow, near a silver ice bucket and a Scotch bottle. She looked at us lazily as we came over the grass. From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away. Her mouth was too wide, her eyes were too blue, her make-up was too vivid, the thin arch of her eyebrows was almost fantastic in its curve and spread, and the mascara was so thick on her eyelashes that they looked like miniature iron railings.
She wore white duck slacks, blue and whit open-toed sandals over bare feet and crimson lake toenails, a white silk blouse and a necklace of green stones that were not square-cut emeralds. Her hair was as artificial as a night-club lobby."
Clark:
"is office was deliberately cozy: pale green walls, tieback draperies in tones of green and white, a mahogany desk with a cluster of small flowering plants, a roomy wine-colored leather armchair opposite his swivel chair, a matching couch facing away from the windows.
When Sarah was ushered in by his secretary, Carpenter studied the attractive young woman in the simple blue suit. Her lean, athletic body moved with ease. She wore no makeup, and a smattering of freckles was visible across her nose. Charcoal brown brows and lashes accentuated the sadness in her luminous gray eyes. Her hair was pulled severely back from her face and held by a narrow blue band. Behind the band a cloud of dark red waves floated, ending just below her ears."
Article comments
1 - NancyGail
I read All Around the Town, and you're right, it's not that great. But if you think about the main story, then the main culprits make a lot of sense.
2 - Mat
Yes, it isn't that hard to see how the 'bad guys' fit in. It was an easy read and did what it was intended to do. Kill a couple of hours and bring a little entertainment into my life.
Not that if I attempted to write a crime novel it would be any better than All Around the Town. But when I read the classics, most of the new stuff pales in comparison.
Anyone read Michael Chabons new one? It's supposed to be in the classic noir style.
3 - David Fiore
Chandler is great--have you read The Long Goodbye yet? that's the motherlode!
and Hammett is even better!
4 - HW Saxton
I have read all of Chandlers works,this
includes the pre marlowe collections of
short stories featuring Johnny Dalmas,
the Marlowe prototype. The best of these
being(IMO) "The Simple Art Of Murder",
but "Trouble Is My Business" is cool as
can be too.
Of his better known books I think that
"Farewell My Lovely" is my personal fave
out of the bunch."The Big Sleep,The Long
Goodbye and The High Window" being right
up there vying for 1st,2nd and 3rd fave
respectively.
I just re-read "The Little Sister" some
short time back and I feel it is every
bit as good as the aforementioned books.
The "L.S" always seems to get overlooked
for consideration though when it comes
to discusion of Big ray's scant written
output. Maybe it's because it was never
adapted for cinema? At least it has not
been to my knowledge anyway.
One mo'thang: Ray has an uncredited non-
speaking cameo in "Double Indemniity".
He is briefly shown sitting outside of
Fred MacMurray's office. A bespectacled,
rather owlish looking intense man.Blink
and you'll miss it.
Peace Love & Fedoras,
HW
5 - godoggo
Read the omnibus a long time ago. Thought Sleep, Farewell, and Goodbye were good, the others crap. Afraid to reread them because others say they don't hold up when you're older.
I once read a compilation of stories from Black Mask, and what struck me was not just that Hammet anc Chandler were the best, but they were they only writers who seemed even minimally competent. I suspect that there are a lot more quality detective writers nowadays.
If you're interested in this this stuff, you also might want to check out Paul Caine's "Fast One," considered the hardest-boiled of the hardboiled detective novels: minimalist prose, many extremely short scenes. Somebody should make a movie with a hardcore soundtrack. If I remember correctly, the author also wrote "The Postman Always Rings Twice."
6 - Mat
I've read the Big Sleep, Farewell My Lovely, The Lady in the Lake, The High Window, The Long Goodbye and am currently reading The Little Sister. I've only been reading the classics for the last year or two and I'm currently 28, so I'm not sure what you mean by "when you're older" but I'm loving them.
Postman was written by James M Cain, an excellent author in his own right, and one who writes from the point of view of the criminal rather than the detective.
I've read all of Hammett's novels and am working on his short story collection "Nightmare Town."
I suspect you're right, godoggo, when you say there are good detective writers out there these days. I just haven't found any. Until I finnish the classics, I'm not all that worried about finding them. I'll have to check out "Fast One" thanks for the reccomendation.
7 - godoggo
Oops. Different Caine.
8 - HW Saxton
I've read two books by Paul Cain.One was
a collection called "Seven Slayers" that
was culled from his writings for Black
Mask.The other was Fast One which I did
truly enjoy thoroughly. Definitely,the
guy was way underrated.I'm currently re-
reading Hammett's "The Continental Op",
which I think is the best thing that he
wrote.
9 - godoggo
Thank you for resurrecting this thread, HW.
I also wanted to mention that Ellroy's White Jazz (which I've glanced through, not read, though I read three of his early books, and thought they were pretty good) uses a prose style very reminiscent of Fast One, although I don't think there was any concious influence (he claims to have pared the prose down to the bone after his publisher balked at a manuscript that was, if memory serves [hopefully better than before] 2500 pages, give or take a few) " he also claims to have read just about every noir novel ever written during his caddy days).
The other big name contemporary noir guy I guess is Walter Mosley, whom I haven't read. Both his and Ellroy's best-known work is set during the classic noir period.
You probably know a lot of this already, but what the hey.
10 - godoggo
OK, one more before I catch the last jeepney to slumberland: Martin Amis' wonderful collection of literary criticism, The War Against Cliche, contained an encomiastic (actual word - you can look it up!) piece on Elmore Leonard, whom I haven't read either, but if Amis loves him, who needs my opinion?
And...now... I'm...getting...very...
11 - Mat
No, thanks for your comments godoggo. Very interesting stuff. I'll have to remember this post when I get in a position to pick up some of those books.
12 - HW Saxton
You liked White jazz eh,godogogo ? After
the trilogy(Black Dahlia,LA Confidential
& Big Nowhere),I think that White Jazz &
American Tabloid were kind of a letdown.
The stories were OK but the trilogy was
just so good that anything following it
was going to come up short IMO.
No fault of Ellroys by the way. I liked
the pacing of White Jazz and I thought
that it had almost a "beat" feel to it.
Whether that was intentional,I dunno. Or
perhaps it was in the editing that you'd
mentioned that caused it to read as it
did.
Yeah, I like the Mosley stuff I've read
but I've only had the chance to read his
"Devil In a Blue Dress" & "Black Betty".
Easy Rawlins is a great reluctant anti-
hero.So typical, but he's a good enough
writer to be able to make it work for
him without coming across as cliched.
The film adaptation of "Devil In A Blue
Dress" was good too .Stayed pretty close
to the book if I remember right. You're
right that Ellroy and Mosely are the two
top contemporary writers of "Roman Noir"
around these days.If there is anyone who
is doing anything close to what they are
I'd like to find them.
13 - roger
the little sister was filmed title was simply marlowe.LEAD WAS PLAYED BY james garner. bruce lee had a cameo as a goon who busts up his office!
14 - Scott Butki
Good piece, Matt. You might enjoy my recent interview with Mrs. Clark.