OnionBob on 6/9/2006 at 19:08
Quote Posted by Stitch
Re: Onionbob
NOW THIS IS MORE LIKE IT
Interesting angle on the book, which works beautifully up until Harry and Silver-wig show up.
I didn't get all the way through it :( What's the deal with those dudes
edit: PS I bought the wasp factory rather than library'd it and oh god i forgot how great it is, especially in combination with some boards of canada. Epically bleak scottish land/soundscapes = B-U
Schattentänzer on 6/9/2006 at 20:17
Awesome post, Bob. That made me pick up the book again and flip through it, and I think the gay encounters (the description of the bedrooms, the fight with whatshisname) fit especially good.
Oh btw, I had the Grim Fandango OST running while reading it.
Low Moral Fiber on 6/9/2006 at 20:49
I've been a completely useless tit without time to read this yet, but god damn Bob if that's not a great post. I know a lot of :eng: degrees but shit, dirty, you take the cake.
Stitch on 6/9/2006 at 21:17
Quote Posted by OnionBob
I didn't get all the way through it :( What's the deal with those dudes
Both are feminine (but not necessarily female) characters who break through Marlowe's shell, and both give Marlowe critical assistance as the book races towards its zenith. Were we shoveling the shit with two scoops one might argue that all good stories are about character development, and Marlowe's fondness for Harry and Silver-wig reflects the inner change--the reluctant embracing of a working balance between the masculine and feminine--that is necessary for both the completion of the case and the maturity of his character.
I highly doubt any sequels support such an assertion, however.
OnionBob on 6/9/2006 at 22:10
Quote Posted by Stitch
Both are feminine (but not necessarily female) characters who break through Marlowe's shell, and both give Marlowe critical assistance as the book races towards its zenith. Were we shoveling the shit with two scoops one might argue that all good stories are about character development, and Marlowe's fondness for Harry and Silver-wig reflects the inner change--the reluctant embracing of a working balance between the masculine and feminine--that is necessary for both the completion of the case and the maturity of his character.
I highly doubt any sequels support such an assertion, however.
This could work, I've not read the rest but I shall do. I'll admit that i've made some gestures about noir as a whole rather than this book specifically cos of the bits i missed.
Gonna definitely get hold of the book again soon and see how this all fits in (or doesn't, of course - no need for a reading to be a perfect and rigid structure, just an interesting series of points).
Tocky on 9/9/2006 at 06:46
Daaayum Bob. Try not to suck too hard on the bitter tits of academia. In fairness I think those who influenced your bias may have been referring to the less talented of the genre. You couldn't pay me enough to read Mickey Spillane but Chandler, Hammet, J.D. MacDonald, and Gregory McDonald are all a pleasure and in your case an education as to the nature of true noir and not just paper mill pulp.
Essentially all good noir is the same story. Trying to save your soul and the rest of humanity in whatever small way you can from the corruption of money, power, and sex. Not always easy in this world. I once asked a psyche professor what the meaning of life was and he must have been very weary because he told me it WAS those three. What about fun? Learning? Love? He just stared at me and I lost any idolatry of educators I may have held.
GBMs "perfect world" cartoon was about getting away from a couple of those things so of course I had to be an ass and poke fun with the third. Eh. I don't know. Maybe sometimes an ass is just an ass too. Yall feel free to put a boot in mine when I'm wrong.
And thanks guys. I hadn't read this one since I was a teenager. Plus it made a nice break from Blood Merridian by Mcarthy. Somebody must have told him how great his discriptions were in Child of God because he went overboard and made this one drag like a lead kite.
