Myron Azov Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 In a letter to Mickey Spillane, Ayn Rand wrote, “You are the only modern writer with whom I can and do share the loyalty of my best readers—and I am proud of this.” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13907199/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myself Posted July 18, 2006 Report Share Posted July 18, 2006 (edited) Is it just me or did that article have a sneering, condescending tone to it? Edited July 18, 2006 by Myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JASKN Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 Is it just me or did that article have a sneering, condescending tone to it?Well he was a Jehovah's Witness... (anyone know if he stayed that way for the duration of his life?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold Standard Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 "And I don’t think anyone, even in the solemnity of death, would argue that Mickey was a great writer, but he was a good guy and he was a successful writer and the combination ain’t bad." Hm, I haven't read anything by Robert Parker, but I thought this was a strange thing to say. It's true that Spillane fostered a sort of low-brow image about himself, relative to some writers. He said he never edited his writing. But what is a "great writer," if not him? Why was he so successful? Is the implication that people respond to his novels because of some vice that they have? He might not have been great like Ayn Rand was great, but it seems there were at least some great elements in his work. There were quite a few celebrity deaths last week. Mickey Spillane, Syd Barrett, and the dog that played "Eddie" from Fraser.. Not to lump all those together as anything of comparable quality, but each entertaining in his own way! Sad. : ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Royce Posted July 19, 2006 Report Share Posted July 19, 2006 What I liked most about Mickey Spillane's storys, especially his early ones, is that he gave me---the reader---a complete sense of justice. Evil was not handled with kid gloves, but very harshly, as it deserved, and Spillane always made me feel the sure rightness of the good winning and the evil losing. No other popular writer can match him for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted July 24, 2006 Report Share Posted July 24, 2006 (edited) Scott Holleran wrote a short article about Spillane (link). He did not appease evil; he killed it. Spillane knew better than most how to use a Smith-Corona typewriter to put the sizzle into the meat of his detective stories. After Mike Hammer unloads his .45 into his best friend's killer, the murderer asks: "How c-could you?" He replies: "It was easy." No self-doubt, no apology, no pleading for approval—that was that. Edited July 24, 2006 by softwareNerd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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