Sometimes I am a Johnny Come lately -- I discover books & wrters that people knew about long before I did. About a year ago I recommended Barbara Kingsolver, especially her book entitled The Poisonwood Bible. A friend of mine stopped me & said, “I’m so glad you recommended Barbara Kingsolver but I knew about her long before you did.” Nevertheless she is worth reading, and she recently published a book of her essays, many of which deal with the Iraq war. The title of the book is Small Wonder. Buy it. Read it. It is a terrific book & says much of what needs to be said about America’s current behavior.
But this talk is about two crime fiction writers that I am sure many of you knew about before I discovered them. Both have been writing for the past forty or fifty years. They are prolific writers.
The first is Lawrence Block. He has written perhaps fifty books. I suggest you read anything he has written. He is a terrific writer. Since one should always suggest specific titles I will mention the ones I’ve just read but they are not necessarily his best. In fact, he recently published a book that has received accolades all over the world. I read glowing reviews of the book & him as a crime fiction writer, in several British newspapers.
I really liked his book Hit Man. It consists of a series of short stories he wrote about a hit man. Two of the stories won the Edgar Allan Poe award of the mystery writers of America, but all of the stories are well written, interesting. Another book of his I just read & loved is called Even the Wicked. Basically, just look for any book by Lawrence Block.
The second crime fiction writer I’d like to recommend is Ed McBain, another man who must have written fifty books. His books are perhaps a little less interesting because they are full of “police procedure.” As he says in the preface of many of his books “the police routine is based on established investigatory technique.” Still, his books are fascinating: a quick read, a page turner. Many of his books are short, can be read in three four hours. Here are the last four I read -- and I liked all of them: Doll, Cinderella, Downtown & Fuzz.
Basically read any book written by these two writers, but don’t expect deep thoughts, just expect good entertainment. Again, their names: Lawrence Block & Ed McBain, great crime fiction writers. And don’t forget the great novelist I mentioned at the opening of this talk, Barbara Kingsolver.
If you can’t remember any of these names, phone the radio station. They have written copies of all my talks.
Copyright © 2004 Henry Morgenstein