Dispatches From Noir

Once upon a time, I dreamed of being an author. I thought I would write a great noir novel. That never happened, but I still admire the spare, descriptive prose and retro sensibilities of the hard-boiled detective.

I also see people every day. Sometimes I can't help but wonder what Chandler, Hammett, Leonard, Cain or even Fleming might have to say about them. So I take a stab at it. Here is the rogue's gallery of the novels and stories I never wrote. Meet the villains, bystanders, toughs and low-lifes that would populate them.

This is also a journal of my own journeys through the wonderful world of hardboiled/noir crime fiction. I review books and movies, and I’m happy to answer crime fiction questions and give recommendations. I'm also starting to think I might just be able to write some fiction of my own. I don't know how that will turn out. I do know that anything that appears on this page is just a dispatch from the great land of Noir.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Crime Fiction

I shared this on Twitter, but I thought I would also mention it here. Max Allan Collins recommends ten works of crime fiction. It is, of course, always easy to quibble with the choices on such lists. But it’s a damn good list, even if one that I drew up would likely be a little different. Collins’ list is definitely heavy on the hardboiled and noir, and heavy on the classics.

Perhaps I will draw up a list of my own. What about you, tumblchums? What books would be on your Beginner’s Guide/Essential Works list?

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stevenforbesmartinez-deactivate asked: you might like jim thompson's the killer inside me, as well as the rest of his work
i'm into noir myself and he's one of my favorites

Yes, that is definitely something I look forward to reading. I am currently reading Jim Thompson’s A Hell of a Woman, and enjoying it a great deal. Another tumblr commented on my post and suggested Donald Westlake/Richard Stark, another author I want to read.

Browsing used books will turn up a variety of noirs, but perhaps not a systematic survey of the genre. I’m fine with that. I used the library to check out the foundational stuff (Chandler, Hammett, some Cain). I’ve no shortage of reading material at the moment, so I’m not looking for anything in particular—though I wouldn’t pass by The Killer Inside Me or one of the Parker novels if I came across it.

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