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| Ross Macdonald |
I’m embarrassed to say that despite the fact that nearly every
crime fiction aficionado rates Macdonald right up there with Hammett and Chandler,
I’ve never read him. It’s inexcusable, I know. The only thing I can say is that
Macdonald died shortly before my interest in mystery writing seriously
began. And as is the fate of many great
writers and artists, there is often a brief dip in their popularity or
notoriety after they die and before they are “rediscovered.” To my discredit, I
simply was not aware of this giant until midway through my own career.
The blessing is that there are likely enough of his novels
to keep me pleasantly engaged during the rest of my existence. Actually, there
are plenty of mysteries by great writers of the recent past, living legends
like Crider and Gorman, not to mention books by those just coming into their
own. I will run out time before I run
out of books.
Meanwhile, back to Black Money: There are novels that can
be textbooks for people who want to understand the history of the genre, or who
are beginning to write or looking for a refresher course. This is one.
Here is an excerpt:
She looked around the room, at the worn carpet, the faded flowers in the wallpaper, the bedside lamp with the scorched paper shade, as I if she were considering her relationship to it. Externally she didn’t belong here at all. She had the kind of style that could be bought, but not suddenly at Bullocks or I. Magnin; the brown pouch on the bed with the gold tassels looked like Paris. But she belonged internally to the room, the way a prisoner belongs to his cell. She had done time in rooms like this and it was settling in again.
What Macdonald did here was create a vivid narrative that
established the setting while simultaneously revealing character and mood.
Though I had not read Ross Macdonald before, I’m partial to
writers who do what he does. I want things to move quickly but I also want to
see the writer’s painting. I want my senses to be worked. I want to feel, even
in my impatience, what there is to be felt.
When I stopped at the Bagshaw mailbox, I could see the ocean below, hung on the horizon like unevenly blued washing. I had climbed a few hundred feet but I could feel the change in temperature, as if I had moved nearer to the noon sun.
Macdonald has verbal takes that are very much his own,
personal and delightful quirks, as well as strange, offbeat humor that mingles
with stark, straightforward prose and then poetry.
The question took him by surprise. For a moment his face was trying on attitudes. It settled on a kind of false boredom behind which his intelligence sat and watched me.
Or.
But she went on answering unspoken questions painfully, and obsessively as if the past had stirred and was talking through her in its sleep.
The movie, or
proposed movie: After the news
broke, subsequent reports suggest the brothers have only signed on to write the
screenplay. I have often been disappointed with what Hollywood does to
perfectly fine books. Here we have
relatively short novel, about movie length.
The time period is clearly defined, as are the characters. The dialogue
is very clearly in place. There is very little internal narrative. It’s all on the page. It is detailed and specific, deceptively so
because Macdonald’s writing is so very simple and direct. Why waste the Coen
brothers’ talents? It’s the overall direction, keeping the mood that’s needed
not the dialogue or the plot.
The Coen Brothers are among my favorite directors. I’d go see anything they make. I love movies.
Perhaps more than books. When I read any book, it’s very much like a movie
running through my brain. With most books, I can fathom the idea that there
could be more than my own interpretation. But most books leave more to
interpretation than Black Money. It
is often necessary for a director or screenwriter to fill in or add nuance. Not
here, I repeat. This is a matter of
casting and cinematography. The brothers should direct not rewrite.
If someone wants something other than the book, why bother with
the book? Write an original screenplay.
However getting back to what writers can gain from his work.
To me, whether you like Macdonald type books or not, a writer should strive to
be able write a book that could be filmed as is, a book that a smart director
would not tamper with. That’s the art.
What do the brothers do here? Is it possible that Hollywood
will see that most of the work is done? Are the brothers rebellious enough to
simply put the book on film, bringing visual truth to the word?
