Hey Mark,
Yep, I knew Sanders is Willeford...he's one of my favorites
(along with Thompson, Goodis, and Charles Williams, to name a
few). That's one of the reasons I was so excited to stumble
across this book; I thought I'd never get to read it because
of the cost.
And you're right...it gets to a point to where my line gets
fuzzy. Like you said, women play a huge part in noir, often
as femmes fatale. What got me interested in this aspect of it
(woman as protagonist) was a review I read about Branded
Woman; the reviewer said: "In the pulp crime novel genre
there are many sub divisions. One of them is the woman's
revenge story." Having read hard-boiled and roman noir for a
few years I'd never heard of this sub-division and wondered
if there were enough titles to warrant making this a category
of noir. That eventually led me to wonder about female
protagonists (main characters) in general. This is where I
get fuzzy LOL. Are femmes fatale the same as protagonists? I
guess they could be, after all, like Phyllis Nirdlinger in
Double Indemnity.
Having read Branded Woman, Cay Morgan is unlike any female
character in the genre I've run across. She's independent and
not aberrant as a result (at least not any more than the
usual male protagonist); she's not man-candy; and she's not
anyone's doom but her own.
I like Charles Williams' women because they're not simpering
shrinking violets. They're quite human in their need of help;
who doesn't need the help of others every once in a while?
But they're not needy and weak; and I don't really see them
as femmes fatale although the guy usually gets into trouble
as a result of meeting them. Can a femme fatale be one
without meaning to? LOL
So after being Chatty Cathy here, I'm back to: where do I
draw my line? I guess it would be those books that
incorporate a female character in a leading role or equal
role as the guy(s). For example, in Whiphand the girl is one
of about 7 other characters, all guys, but her role was equal
to all of them and in the end maybe more important. And in
Thompson's The Getaway Doc and Carol are also co-main
characters.
Now, I've either really cleared things up or I've confused it
even more LOL Thanks for bearing with me!
Amy
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, DJ-Anonyme@... wrote:
>
> By the way Amy, you mentioned Whip Hand by Sanders.
You do know it was
> co-written by Charles Willeford, right?
>
> Also, thought of another (sorta) female protagonist
book -- Lawrence
> Block's Girl with a Long Green Heart, also recently
reprinted by Hard
> Case Crime. She's not the main character, the two
con men partners are,
> but she plays a very important role. Which kind of
leads to a question:
> Where are you drawing the line for how big a role
the woman must play?
> For instance, Hard Case's recent Charles Williams
book, A Touch of
> Death, revolves around an uneasy partnership between
a man and a woman.
> It strikes me that, to varying degrees, that
relationship often applies
> to noir, between a man and the femme fatale he lusts
after.
>
> Mark
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 21 Dec 2006 EST