Paint It Noir

Volumes have been written attempting to analyze noir, both literary and cinematic. I won't go anywhere near that here; virtually all of the discussions of definitions seem to devolve into a search or declaration of hard and fast examples. Forget about it, can't be done. Nor, probably, should it.

It's a feeling, a sense of atmosphere, a bleak world view. To me, I don't even need a down ending. For me, I can have a noir sense throughout a book or movie and still give in to the human tendency to root for the underdog, even if sometimes they're not such good people or have done some pretty rotten things. But I've no wish to argue...

Far too often people lampoon noir and riff on the stereotyped rhythms and language that seem to have emerged in the general public's consciousness (i.e. Garrison Keillor's "Guy Noir" character); I think this short changes the genre for the uninitiated and helps to keep them that way. Which is too bad.

Anyway, I just finished re-reading Gil Brewer's The Vengeful Virgin, last month's offering from Hard Case Crime. On page 51 this line jumped out at me as a perfect example of the charms of this kind of writing. I'm not talking about noirish themes or elements, but simply noir as a style of writing, boiled down to a simple, clear sentence:

"She looked hot enough to catch fire, but too lazy to do anything but just lie there and smoke."

Contrast that to the language and imagery of the Cormac McCarthy examples I quoted two posts ago. Completely different kind of imagery and emotional impact and in this case, much more accessible to your normal reader. Great stuff, good book, wonderful author, priceless publisher. Heard that before (from me, anyway), eh?