Friday, March 6, 2009
Devil in a Blue Dress
I just re-read Walter Mosley's Devil in a Blue Dress for the first time in about ten years. Know what? It floored me all over again. The narrative voice, the characters, the stark and violent depiction of postwar L.A. that is nevertheless shot through with small moments of peace...all made for a powerful debut that still holds up. I think I'll work my way through the whole series again.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Incredible book, incredible character, incredible period detail.
I've been reading a lot of Mosley myself lately. It's kind of ruined me for poorly written crime fic. I just can't go back...
Mosley is one of the few writer's who can actually write period noir,(the other three are Abbott, Ellroy, and McDonald.) which so many folks attempt and fail. What do you think of him going contemporary with his new book/series?
BTW Mosley here in Phoenix at the end of the month.
Haven't read his new book. I've mostly stuck to the Easy Rawlins series, though I did like ALWAYS OUTNUMBERED ALWAYS OUTGUNNED and RL'S DREAM.
It's a wonderful book. An ex girlfriend met him at the Jazz cafe in London in the 90's. he was doing a reading with a three piece band. She said he was 'dead charming'.
Yeah, it's an excellent book. If you haven't checked it out, consider reading his This Year You Write Your Novel. I was kind of hesitant, as I've never had a problem putting words on paper and based on the title and the cover copy it struck me as a book for folks who keep telling themselves they'll write some day, but in the end there's a lot of good stuff in it.
I've heard others praising Mosley's craft book, too. I could write a craft book: HOW TO SPEND FIVE YEARS AGONIZING OVER YOUR FIRST DRAFT. Watch that sucker fly off the shelves.
Post a Comment