|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Tough Guys
| Article
# : |
19294 |
|
|
Section : |
BOOK WORLD
|
| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1991 |
2,821 Words |
| Author
: |
Curt Schleier
Curt Schleier is a nationally syndicated book critic and is
the author of two books for juveniles. |
EYES OF PREY
John Sandford
New York: Putnam, 1991
318 pp., $19.95
THE EMPRESS FILE
John Camp
New York: Henry Holt, 1991
231 pp., $18.95
Woody Allen, arguably America's most innovative filmmaker, told his biographer that he would "love more than anything else in the world to do a murder mystery. That would be my gift to myself."
He refuses to, however even though he has several good ideas for such movies; he feels the subject is too trivial. He says:
I make value judgments. I don't say what I do is so superior. I try to do superior work. I'm not saying that I don't strike out, but my attempt to begin with is much higher than that.
I'm going to insult all the mystery writers in the world, but to me a mystery story is still a second-class kind of thing no matter how you look at it. And I love them.
Woody is not alone. A lot of people claim to love mysteries while at the same time they dismiss them as fluff, intellectual popcorn unworthy of serious thought or discussion.
As a longtime mystery fan, as someone who grew up reading everything from Vero Wolfe to Ellery Queen, from Perry Mason to Raymond Chandler, even, yes, Mickey Spillane, I've long felt that there's more than a bit of intellectual snobbery in this attitude--particularly today, when it seems to me, some of the most literate and literary fiction produced comes from the pen of P.D. James; the snappiest, most crackling dialogue from Robert B. Parker; the most colorful, full-bodied, interesting characters from Elmore Leonard.
What's more, the mystery genre--with a surprising degree of regularity--has authors who create fascinating, innovative works, usually with a strong moral core. It's a world where justice always triumphs. It may not be blind justice (balanced scales and all). It may not be constitutional justice. But in the world of detective fiction the bad guys always lose, and the good guys--even the
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
