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A review by feloniousfunk
Más oscuro que el ámbar by John D. MacDonald
1.0
Came across this at a used bookstore and figured I'd read it before watching the Robert Clouse-directed adaptation. I like crime novels, I've been looking forward to seeing the movie, this is a breezy 180ish pages, what could go wrong?
Well.
Maybe it's a question of the changing times. For all I know this book was very progressive and even-handed in its treatment of the sex trade, women, and people of color. Perhaps the sexualization of every woman that shows up, the incredibly uncomfortable descriptions of everyone who isn't white, the slurs, the devaluing of sex workers, all were incredibly tame compared to other crime novels of the era.
Reading today though, it's a chore to get through. I can't remember a time where I felt more disgusted while reading a book; it's why it took me two weeks to read something i could have finished in two days. The characters express some absolutely putrid views about the world, and women in particular, and they're held up as virtuous. You get the impression that John MacDonald absolutely considered himself "one of the good ones", even as he happily types up a scene where a black character proves how smart she is by not using AAVE and dismissing the idea of integration.
Even putting the moral objections aside - a tall order - the prose is tough to read. There are many long passages going to minute detail about things that have no direct or indirect influence on the story, and do little to give shading to the character of Travis McGhee. Long paragraphs with no breaks are used to describe the action. What's meant to be read as poetic comes off as faux-intellectual. I constantly found myself gliding over huge chunks of text.
The second i read the last word, i threw the book across the room. Truly hated this. Hope the movie excises the worst aspects and... well, invents some good ones, because they won't be from here.
Well.
Maybe it's a question of the changing times. For all I know this book was very progressive and even-handed in its treatment of the sex trade, women, and people of color. Perhaps the sexualization of every woman that shows up, the incredibly uncomfortable descriptions of everyone who isn't white, the slurs, the devaluing of sex workers, all were incredibly tame compared to other crime novels of the era.
Reading today though, it's a chore to get through. I can't remember a time where I felt more disgusted while reading a book; it's why it took me two weeks to read something i could have finished in two days. The characters express some absolutely putrid views about the world, and women in particular, and they're held up as virtuous. You get the impression that John MacDonald absolutely considered himself "one of the good ones", even as he happily types up a scene where a black character proves how smart she is by not using AAVE and dismissing the idea of integration.
Even putting the moral objections aside - a tall order - the prose is tough to read. There are many long passages going to minute detail about things that have no direct or indirect influence on the story, and do little to give shading to the character of Travis McGhee. Long paragraphs with no breaks are used to describe the action. What's meant to be read as poetic comes off as faux-intellectual. I constantly found myself gliding over huge chunks of text.
The second i read the last word, i threw the book across the room. Truly hated this. Hope the movie excises the worst aspects and... well, invents some good ones, because they won't be from here.