Title: The novels of Ross Macdonald
First published: 2005
Description: In his examination of Macdonald's eighteen detective novels, Kreyling suggests that this author elevated a popular genre from the plateau reached by Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler to a level of sophistication yet to be surpassed. Kreyling takes a fresh look at forgotten works as well as Macdonald's better known novels, and proposes that the literary merit of the Macdonald corpus calls for a closer, more discriminating reading than scholars commonly accord the genre. He considers the "mutual bond" of structure and life that informs Macdonald's work, the Freudian theories he has adopted to advance his genre, and the place his novels occupy in the larger literary canon. He shows how Macdonald forces protagonist Archer to mature and change by incorporating themes drawn from the novelist's own family life, the social and moral upheavals of the 1960s, America's and California's obsession with race, environmental sins, and the difficulties of aging.--From publisher description.
Subjects: American Detective and mystery stories, American Noir fiction, Criticism and interpretation, Detective and mystery stories, American, History and criticism, In literature, Lew Archer (Fictitious character), Noir fiction, American, Private investigators in literature, American fiction, history and criticism, 20th century, Detective and mystery stories, history and criticism, Macdonald, ross, 1915-1983
Places: California
People: Ross Macdonald (1915-)
LC classification: PS3525.I486 Z75 2005