200 Noirs
Given Paul's recent post about The Big Book of Pulps and our groups general love of noir, I thought y'all might find this interesting.
200 Noirs
Compiled by Allan Guthrie
A couple of years back I was asked to provide a list of my top 100 noir novels for the now sadly defunct magazine, Bullet. Recently I've had a few requests to ask if I would consider republishing the list, so I dug it out and had another look. I was horrified by some of the omissions, but my excuse is that 100 just isn’t nearly enough.
So I've taken this opportunity to add another 100 to the original list. And I've cut the list off at 1997 or there'd be 100 more.
Continued...
There were two surprising things about the list. The first was how many books I hadn't read. Some 32 of the 200 listed. The second was the noticeable absence of Raymond Chandler. How do you compile a list of 200 noirs with no Chandler?While I don't always agree with Guthrie's assessment (L.A. Confidential? His earlier noir Black Dahlia is a much better book), and even with the Chandler oversight, Guthrie compiled an excellent list that is worthy of discussion. And a great resource for future reading.
(Thanks to Bill Crider for the link)
Labels: Allan Guthrie, Bullet, mystery, noir
posted by Rick Klaw at
8:17 AM
6 Comments:
I did only slightly better -- about 40 of the 200 -- and was also puzzled by Chandler's absence. However, I also noticed that Fredric Brown isn't there, either
With 13 mentions, clearly I need to look into Day Keene. Hard Case Crime published Home is the Sailor, which I admit did not blow me away.
And note that if he'd gone past '97 Guthrie could have put himself on the list. Kiss Her Goodbye is one of the best of the modern HCC books.
Damn. I was in Book People the other day and almost picked it up. I'll have to get it based on your recommendation, Paul.
I really think you'll like it.
By the way, remember when we were talking about RPGs a few meetings ago? Afterwards, I picked up an old copy of Top Secret on eBay. I've been enjoying reading through the players guide for the first time in 20 something years.
Makes me a bit nostalgic. Thanks.
Hey, thanks for the kind words folks.
Yes, Chandler's omission might seem a bit of a puzzle. As I tried to explain (not very effectively, obviously), I have my own definition of noir which detective novels really struggle to fit into -- unless the detectives are crooks, victims or crazy. You'll note that THE MALTESE FALCON is also missing, and it happens to be one of my all-time favourite novels. If I was compiling an equivalent list of hardboiled novels, you'd see plenty of Chandler, plus FALCON.
As for Fredric Brown, he's one of my self-confessed reading gaps. I've only read one of his crime novels and it clearly wasn't one of his best. I'm attempting to remedy my neglect of Mr Brown's crime fiction, and I have a few more of his on hand. If I ever update the list, I'm sure there'll be a few Browns to add.
I have something of a Day Keene fetish, I admit. I just love the no-nonsense way he tells a story. But if you didn't like SAILOR, he might not be for you.
Hope you find a few new books to enjoy, though.
And thanks again for the kind words on KISS. Delighted you enjoyed it, Paul. And Derek, if you do get a copy, hope you enjoy it too.
Al Guthrie
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