Poll

What should we read next?

Colin Harrison: Manhattan Nocturne
0 (0%)
Raymond Chandler: The Big Sleep
10 (62.5%)
Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man
3 (18.8%)
James Ellroy: LA Confidential
3 (18.8%)

Total Members Voted: 16

Author Topic: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll  (Read 5007 times)

lise

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Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« on: March 25, 2008, 01:05:54 PM »
I was reading a NY Times Review of Colin Harrison's new book in which the reviewer referenced earlier works of noir. That combined with my recent movie viewing made me think of these selections.

People may have read these particular works so I have alternative titles for each author if need be. Every book listed (with the exception of the Harrison) has a movie version which might be interesting.

Colin Harrison Manhattan Nocturne
In this full-bore detective tale of scandal and mayhem in the Big Apple, Colin Harrison whips up noir for the 90s, complete with a jaded newspaperman protagonist, a mysterious femme fatale, exhaustive travelogues of the meat-grinder labyrinth of Manhattan, and an elusive jade figurine. Harrison weds a literary sensibility to this tangled tale, but the pleasures of the novel come mainly from the conventional elements of all detective fiction: the assembling of apparently disconnected pieces into a coherent puzzle.

Raymond Chandler The Big Sleep
Chandler's first novel, introduces Philip Marlowe, the genre's most influential series detective. His wise-cracking style and capacity to endure punishment from his foes introduced a new kind of "performance" to hard-boiled fiction, in which victory was more often verbal than physical. Chandler's ironic tone and extraordinary metaphors focused readers on individual scenes, which he excelled at writing. Many of these evoke Southern California in the late 1930s so vividly that the setting seems to become part of the plot. Most critics consider this book among the dozen greatest hard-boiled novels.

Dashiell Hammett The Thin Man
Nick and Nora Charles, accompanied by their schnauzer, Asta, are lounging in their suite at the Normandie in New York City for the Christmas holiday, enjoying the prerogatives of wealth: meals delivered at any hour, theater openings, taxi rides at dawn, rubbing elbows with the gangster element in speakeasies. They should be annoyingly affected, but they charm. Mad about each other, sardonic, observant, kind to those in need, and cool in a fight, Nick and Nora are graceful together, and their home life provides a sanctuary from the rough world of gangsters, hoodlums, and police investigations into which Nick is immediately plunged.
[...]
The dialogue is spare, the locales lively, and Nick, the narrator, shows us the players as they are, while giving away little of his own thoughts. No one is telling the whole truth, but Nick remains mostly patient as he doggedly tries to backtrack the lies. Hammett's New York is a cross between Damon Runyon and Scott Fitzgerald--more glamorous than real, but compelling when visited in the company of these two charmers. The lives of the rich and famous don't get any better than this!

James Ellroy LA Confidential
An intricate procedural set in 1950s L.A. has crooked cops participating in a shoot-out with gangsters and in a precinct-house riot. According to PW , although "even the most noble of the characters here are relentlessly sleazy. . . their grueling, sometimes maniacal schemes make a compelling read for the stout of heart."



[alternatives: The Havana Room, The Long Goodbye, The Dain Curse, White Jazz
« Last Edit: March 25, 2008, 01:15:25 PM by lise »
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pixote

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2008, 01:09:36 PM »
I've read The Big Sleep and The Thin Man, so I'm debating between the other two and leaning towards Ellroy.  I'm most interested in The Long Goodbye, though — especially as a prelude to revisiting the Altman movie.

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lise

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2008, 01:11:25 PM »
I put up the alternatives for just that reason... these are mostly oldies but goodies (that I haven't read) and I figured we may need to switch one of two up.

What do you think, should I expand the poll to include the alternatives?
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Ronan

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2008, 01:12:26 PM »
Come on big sleep

St. Martin the Bald

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2008, 01:14:58 PM »
I went with The Big Sleep but I will be happy with any of them. Nice choices lise!
Hey, nice marmot!

lise

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2008, 01:16:23 PM »
Thanks   :D
« Last Edit: March 25, 2008, 01:23:59 PM by lise »
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Colleen

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2008, 01:17:25 PM »
Great choices!  I have never read any Hammett or Chandler, and only one Ellroy (Black Dahlia) and always meant to read more.  I love mystery stories and there are so many published in recent years that it takes a conscious effort to back and dig up the old stuff.

Big Sleep would be the most "literary" choice.  I'll go with that but I also would be happy with any of them.

Kevin Shields

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2008, 02:21:26 PM »
I've read The Black Dahlia.  Took me a week to read the whole thing yet it was easier to follow through than the film.  The film really lost its psychological tone and the ending was far more different.  The book reminded more of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in some respects due to Bleichert's descent into madness. 

The film was just too stylized with bad performances and such. 
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lise

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2008, 10:42:51 PM »
ooh the big sleep is in the lead
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winrit

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Re: Filmspotting Book Club #4: Poll
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2008, 11:50:16 PM »
I'm interested in the Thin Man. I would like to see how the on-screen Nick and Nora translate to the page. I think The Big Sleep would be a great choice too. Actually I would be happy with any of the choices.

Maybe those who have read the eventual choice could read an alternate companion piece and report back. Thoughts?
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