One of my favorite authors Elmore Leonard has passed away at the age of 87. He is familiar to most people because of "Justified" or the movie "Get Shorty" but he was a long time favorite of mine. He has been celebrated recently by the Hollywood mo's and the literary pansies as the token mystery writer and has got a boatload of awards and recognition. Don't get me wrong. He deserves all of it and more. But there are plenty of writers who are just as good in the genre who never get a mention. Mr. Leonard was particularly good in mentioning that and telling this high brow losers that a lot of good work is being done in the mystery/thriller world that flies under the literary radar as it were.
His work will live on and his legacy will continue. I imagine they will write more "Justified" novels with the TV writers picking up the slack. That is what often happens with very commercial writers. Usually their son or daughter steps in as in the case of WEB Griffin or Michael Shaare. Or they hire someone to continue the series like they did with Robert B Parkers Spenser series with Ace Atkins picking up the torch. The "Justified" writers will continue the series just as Michael Brandman is doing with Parker's Jesse Stone character that generated a bunch of TV movies with Tom Selleck.
I expect we will be seeing a lot of more of Elmore Leonards work making its way to TV and the movies. He would just laugh because he had a good attitude about it. Once someone asked if he was pissed about how a movie changed up his book. He said they didn't change the book. The book will always remain the same. The movie is something totally different and he didn't sweat it. Words to live by.
RIP Elmore Leonard.
18 comments:
Honest to God--my first thought was "I wonder what Troop'll have to say about it".
Cody, Me too. I learned Leonard wrote everything longhand on unlined legal pads. He would use 1000 pads a year.
I didn't know that, Spinelli. Sheesh. I'd never get anything written that way.
And no one--including me after a couple of weeks--would be able to translate the pads anyway.
I didn't know him, but he sounds like he had a bit of this attitude. Kudos and RIP.
Elmore Leonard was a great writer. But then so are numerous other mystery guys like Lawrence Block and Dennis Lehane and George V Higgens and George Pelecanos. The literary world is full of shit.
You like Dennis Lehane?
At least you didn't include John Sandford on your list.
That frozen Minnesota badword writes some of the worst books I have ever read. Was almost through the fourth one when I realized I couldn't even recall what the first three had been about. That's some bad writing right there.
There was some snow and cold and snow machines and shit, but that's about it.
I was thankful when Nick's wife's book showed up - I could set aside that bag full of Sandford dreck without any guilt.
Now I am on to Anna Karenina - Ol' Uncle Leo could slam some words together, that's for sure.
I thought "The Given Day" by Lehane was pretty good. I enjoyed the parts about Babe Ruth. Also Mystic River was pretty decent as well. The movie sucked and they loaded it up by having the child molester be a priest but it was a decent read.
Better than any of the literary shit that wins awards these days.
Have you ever read anything by Donald Ray Pollock?
He wrote a collection of short stories called Knockemstiff, and a novel called The Devil All The Time.
He spent years working in various mills and shit until he decided to write.
Good stuff.
I really don't like John Sanford or Alex Cross or James Patterson or many of the best sellers. They are not the true talents in the genre.
Another very underrated but great author is Nate Heller. Check out some of his stuff. It is stellar.
You mean Max Collins, btw?
Amba linked to an old review she wrote as a nice tribute: link
Again with the monochromatic theming?
One of my favorite books, and perhaps the best book I have ever read, is a collection of essays written by a guy who lives down in Wilmington.
Pulphead: Essays by John Jeremiah Sullivan.
He also wrote about horse racing. He truly has a way with words.
This is non-fiction, so it really doesn't fit with the discussion, but good writing is good writing.
Simultaneously channeling the gonzo energy of Hunter S. Thompson and the wit and insight of Joan Didion, Sullivan shows us—with a laidback, erudite Southern charm that’s all his own—how we really (no, really) live now.
That's an interesting description. LOL.
Hunter S and Didion? You don't really ever see those two together like that.
I have never read anything by Didion, but Sullivan is like a sane, literate, sober Thompson, only intelligent.
Elmore Leonard on writing
Elmore Leonard interview by Martin Amis.
New Yorker article on Elmore Leonard's researcher (you might have to be a subscriber to access this interview in the archives, I'm not sure).
I looked for the (expected by me) Paris Review interview. There doesn't seem to be one, huh. But oh well, here's a the Paris Review James Ellroy interview-- for whatever it's worth, another great El.
It was in #164, the Winter 2002/3 issue.
I can't find it online anywhere either. Shocked by that, really. The back issue is available for purchase for $20 if you're a fanatic.
Elmore Leonard dot com claims to have an excerpt but when I click it--it's a feedback loop.
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