Hello there, Reader!
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I have spent a week—seven consecutive days—doing nothing but watching Youtube.* What is my problem? Anyway, I have finally torn my eyeballs away from my computer screen and locked them onto the screen of my Kindle where I read, among other things, a couple of short stories that I would like to share with you.
The first story I’d like to share is written by one of my favorite writers. She started off writing Hollywood noir starring women you probably don’t want to get mixed up with. She is most recently known for the wonderful novel “Dare Me”. She reminds me of Chandler and Ross Macdonald. The story is called “The Girl” and is published in L.A. Noire: The Collected Stories. L.A. Noire is based on the Rockstar Games game of the same name. (That was not the best sentence I’ve ever written!) “The Girl” is about June Ballard, an actress, who is lured to a depraved Hollywood party by promises of future work.
The story is typical Abbott. You can feel the rot under the glitz in every paragraph. You move along with June as she navigates the party and the dark recesses of the house, where she must decide if she’s willing to make a pact with the devil.
The second story I want to share with you is also from L.A. Noire called “School For Murder” by Francine Prose.
I haven’t read much by Prose. In fact I’ve only read The Lives of Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired. Now that I’ve read some of her fiction, I might just pop over to Amazon and buy one or two of her novels.
“School For Murder” takes the reader behind the scenes of a noir film. It is a story about a WWII veteran turned actor, down on his luck and desperate. His only job in six months? The silent role of a maniac killer who strangles the girlfriend of some poor guy who gets nailed for the murder. But he can’t do it. He can’t pretend to kill, not after what happened in Okinawa. So, he goes to an acting class that goes beyond the Method.
There you have it, Reader. Two noir stories from a collection I recommend, especially if you enjoy noir. Other authors included in L.A. Noire are Lawrence Block and Joyce Carol Oates.**
So what about you reader? Are you a noir fan? What is it about noir that makes it so intriguing? Why do we love these stories that revel in the dark side of life?
Catch ya later!
Kiki
P.S. – Does anyone know if the game L.A. Noire is available for Mac and, if so, is still available?
*Actually, this was written a lot longer than seven days ago. My Internet stopped working and then it worked again and then it stopped again. Anyway, there will be another post today. So…that will make two posts in one day. Can we just pretend I was extra productive?
**I will post about Oates’ story one of these days.
The Indomitable Reader 