Dispatches From Noir

Anonymous asked: What do you think of the role of women in The Big Sleep? Do you think Marlowe's Cynicism has anything to do with the way he views women?

This is an interesting question and once again confirms that I have (in the words of ordinarywonder) “the most well read, intelligent anons.”  I’m a bit mystified why anyone would ask such literate question anonymously, but I’m happy to answer all the same.

I think the role of women in Chandler’s novel’s is a product of cynicism rather than any prejudicial view of women.  Arguably that is not the case with all hardboiled fiction.  Spillane’s Mike Hammer takes some glee in the objectification of women.  And Travis McGee is a white knight who helps damsels in distress.  He not only vanquishes their tormentors, he can also cure all their hang-ups if they sleep with him.  

But I don’t find that in Chandler.  The women are pretty much like the men.  They all have an angle, and Marlowe’s unique virtue is that he is too stubborn to be a cog in anyone’s wheel.  He’s suspicious of everyone and resolutely self-contained.  

The women Marlowe comes across are unsavory, no doubt.  But are they all that different from the men?  In much of hardboiled crime fiction, I think so.  In Chandler’s case, I don’t think so.

I could be overlooking something, however.  Feel free to let me know what I missed.  And you might be interested in this profile of Chandler I wrote for Crime Fiction Lover last summer.

Anonymous asked: Have you ever played LA Noire?

Ah, an anon who isn’t totally ridiculous!  

I actually have not, though i am curious about it and tempted to play it.  But I play video games very infrequently (as in half a dozen times in my life).  And every video game commercial I see is ridiculous to the point of being hilarious.  

But L.A. Noire might very well (and should!) be better than the homicidal pandas I see crashing around commercials for some other game.  Or the Ninja guy fighting the redcoats?  Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?  Do grown men really pay attention to this stuff?

Anyone else play L.A. Noire and have any recommendations?  And what’s with the misspelling?

thelamplightersserenade asked: Which Marlowe did you prefer? Bogart or Powell?

Bogart over Powell for me.  But as much as I love the Bogart hero, there is little in Bogie’s portrayal of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe to differentiate two very different characters.  My favorite Marlowe on screen is Powers Boothe from HBO’s Philip Marlowe, Private Eye.

Anonymous asked: Hi, how are you? how did you find me? I always wonder how people find me on here and decide to follow me.

I’m probably gonna answer a few asks this afternoon (feel free to send in a question if you have any).  But I’m not so bored I’m going to answer something I’ve already answered.  

wanderingchronicle asked: Happy seasonal holiday of your choice, and a happy new year!

Thank-you kindly.  I’ve grown up celebrating Christmas, but have celebrated other holidays and have no objection to being happy on any day—even if other people are celebrating a holiday that day.  

So Merry Christmas to you all.  I hope your Chanukkah was happy, and that Kwanzaa will be pleasant.  Even if you don’t celebrate all three (I’m sure there are some people that do, but it probably isn’t very many).  And if you celebrate something else, enjoy that, too.

I’ll try to post more often in the New Year.  I’ve posted a few times in the past weeks, and stay tuned—there will be more noir before the year is over.  I also look forward to  my tumblchums’ posts and asks—so keep up the good work. 

knrwrites asked: Quick question. On one post you had mentioned hardboiled novels which made me think of eggs (i was hungry :-d) but it also made me wonder if there's a such thing as softboiled novel? If there is can you explain the difference?

Are there softboiled novels?  Certainly, but they are not referred to as such.  Hardboiled detectives were referred to as hardboiled because they were being contrasted with Golden Age crime fiction: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, etc.  In the classic locked-room mysteries, and subsequent cozies, mannerly sleuths solve elaborate crimes with equally elaborate ratiocination.

In his essay, “The Simple Art of Murder,” Raymond Chandler argued that “[Dashiell] Hammett gave murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse; and with the means at hand, not with hand-wrought duelling pistols, curare, and tropical fish.”  Hardboiled detectives were gritty, morally ambivalent and (for the time, at least) sexually frank.  You certainly would not use this list of characteristics to describe Lord Peter Wimsey or Miss Marple.

These Golden Age mysteries were around long before hardboiled fiction makes an appearance, so they aren’t really described as softboiled.  I, however, am not above using softboiled as a disparaging term for crime fiction which strikes me as too gentle.

thegirlwhowasthursday asked: Your Tumblr has been an eye opener for me - I've been working my though Chandler et al. and am nearing the end of authors suggested in an earlier post written by you. I was wondering though if you had come across any authors who are basing their noir in the 90's upwards? I would be interested if the genre translates well.

I’m delighted to hear that you’ve taken my suggestions, and I’d be very curious to know which authors you’ve read and what you thought of them.  That might help me extrapolate your preferences to more recent hardboiled/noir fiction.  (And there is a difference between the two terms, as I’ve discussed previously.)

Dennis Lehane has written excellent hardboiled (The Kenzie-Gennaro novels) and noir (Mystic River) fiction recently.  Walter Mosley is most famous for his Easy Rawlins series, which traces the African American detective from 1948 to 1967.  But his more recent Leonid McGill novels have a contemporary setting.  Hard Case Crime publishes a mixture of reprints and original novels.  Some of the original novels are period pieces, but some have modern settings.  

George Pelecanos’ crime novels are very good.  And Elmore Leonard has written a number of good novels since the Nineties started more than twenty years ago.  

I often focus on the classics here on this blog, but I review recent crime fiction at Crime Fiction Lover.  My reviews there may be of some utility.  My ask box is, of course, always open.  And, as always, I invite feedback from readers.  What did I leave out?  What would you recommend, tumblchums?

thelamplightersserenade asked: What, in your opinion, elevates a great hardboiled film/novel from just a common thriller?

I’m not sure I agree with the implicit assumption that hardboiled is necessarily great, while thrillers are common.  I think there are great and common works in both categories. Pulp, noir, hardboiled, thriller—these are categories which are not synonymous, but do overlap. The Silence of the Lambs is a thriller, but hardly common.  Ditto for The Manchurian Candidate.  The film V.I. Warshawski is based on Sara Paretsky’s hardboiled P.I., but is dreadfully common.  

Ultimately, thriller refers to works that focus on suspense while hardboiled refers to the nature of the protagonist and/or the prose used.  These elements may or may not intersect.  Kiss Me Deadly is one case of intersection. 

Anonymous asked: When you follow someone who wasn't originally following you, what is generally the reason you follow a stranger?

Cue John McEnroe (he was before your time, kids).  Is this Crazy Anon Day?  I really hope that this isn’t the same person as the last crazy anon.  I really have not gotten such off-the-wall questions since “What do you look like?”  or “bobmamama bum bum bum bum lla sjsjssmsjejde,wk ?”  Inquiries about my harem have been simply mystifying.  Of course, let’s not forget the all-time classic, “How oldddz r u?” 

I would say I follow tumblchums for the same reason that everyone else does, but now I worry everyone may be overthinking it.  So the general reason I follow someone, who follows me or not, is probably because I think they most posted something interesting and I think they might do so again.  And I figure if they don’t, I can unfollow later.  What other reasons are there?

Let me just take this moment to say that I really do love questions. I’ve had this blog for almost a year and have gotten some really great questions during that period.  Wonder of wonders, I’ve even had some very intelligent anonymous questions, prompting a tumblchum to remark: “You seem to have the most well read, intelligent anons.”  I’m even a teensy bit vain and gratified by anonymous admiration.

But really.  I’m not altogether sure why people ask intelligent questions anonymously, though I’m happy enough to answer.  But who is ashamed to be asking about Chandler?  I will answer (most) every question.  I’ve given fair warning, however: I reserve the right to make fun of anonymous questions.  So consider yourself warned, unless you’re a masochist or something.

Anonymous asked: What do you look for in a girl or a guy? Dating wise.

Dear God, are you for real? My first thought was that this must be spam. But what’s the point of spamming without including an invocation to check out tumblrnet.bot or some such website?

So if this is a real person, let me respond with two pieces of advice:

1. “-wise” is not an all purpose suffix you can slap on at the end of any word or sentence and have yourself an adverb or adjective.
2. If you *ahem* pay attention, you would have the answer to your question.  (Cliff’s Notes synopsis: I’m not looking for anything.)