tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post7066748586702530139..comments2024-03-28T10:16:38.716-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: The Dadaist Enigma of Claire DeWittLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74998626272992887782012-10-19T17:14:51.475-04:002012-10-19T17:14:51.475-04:00Linda, I hope to see more responses from you SS in...Linda, I hope to see more responses from you SS in the future. It’s a pleasure to make the (online) acquaintance of someone who enjoys speaking her mind. And, allow me to assure you: if you asked my wife she could very quickly convince you that we're definitely not rich. LOL <br /><br />I've spent some time in the military, and carried weapons around, which is why I know a small boy would have difficulty concealing a .44 Magnum anywhere on his body -- not just in his pants. <br /><br />My pointing this out, however, is not an attempt to say that Sara Gran is ignorant, or that she’s a bad writer. On the contrary, members of my discussion group who met her said she is quite intelligent, and they were convinced she had included these (“absurd” as I see them) occurrences for specific reasons – though these folks were at a loss when it came to explaining what her reasoning might have been. My post, today, is an attempt to explain what I thought (just my own humble opinion, mind you) her reasoning might have been. <br /><br />I did a lot of research (which I didn’t feel I had room to mention in my post) before finally nailing down my conclusion, including having read quite a bit about Sara Gran, as well as interviews with her. That was how I came to suspect she wanted to create a noir mystery that sort of “flew in the face” of the genre. Just glancing at the “sound bites” available when you google her name, I believe you’ll find several references to Sara Gran “approaching a genre with a knife…” that – in my opinion – back up the idea that she’s working in sort of an anti-genre method. <br /><br />This is NOT a bad thing, or an insult to her. Instead, it’s what she pretty clearly – based on interviews and reviews I read – enjoys doing. And, she does it well. This is partly what led me to the L.H.O.O.Q. painting example, because that was what Duchamp was attempting to do when he created it. That, and the fact that there is an “absurdist” element to the art work, tend to place it in the Dadaist camp for most folks. I see a certain similarity, when it comes to this Sara Gran novel, and I wanted to point that out. Not to denigrate Sara Gran or her writing, but rather to explain what I saw as one aspect of it. As I mentioned at the post’s conclusion, I encourage people to read this book. I wouldn’t have suggested that if I thought the book was a bad one.<br />Dixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-42155567107116222292012-10-19T16:32:17.453-04:002012-10-19T16:32:17.453-04:00I think this writer is full of it. I red this boo...I think this writer is full of it. I red this book and it isn’t like that. Why does he think Sara Gran is ignorant writer. She’s a great writer. And there isn’t anything “absurd” in the book, that’s just what life is like. Maybe this man It has to be a man to not understand! who wrote this is richor something. Probably a 1% who thinks everybody has a happy life. Get REAL Life is just ike in the book. It’s weird, and stuff you don’t expect happens all the time. To you it’s “absurd” to us it just life.Linda Bradleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15192229198796264915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-82033256568782097282012-10-19T16:07:43.684-04:002012-10-19T16:07:43.684-04:00Well, I can't help it, Elizabeth. No. 2 is th...Well, I can't help it, Elizabeth. No. 2 is the painting we studied in that old Modern Art class of mine, so that's the one I fell in love with. <br /><br />And, for those who might have found my art explanations a bit pedantic: Just wanted to be sure we all had a similar base-line, so my reasoning vis-à-vis <i>Claire DeWitt</i> would have a leg or two to stand on.<br /><br />Leigh, I can understand why you’d wanna get reading. After all, Sara Gran’s book won the 2012 Macavity for Best Mystery Novel.<br /><br />P.S. Yes, it means "She’s got a hot ass." I was just trying to protect our readers' sensibilities. LOLDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-3218332046930730542012-10-19T12:06:46.010-04:002012-10-19T12:06:46.010-04:00I like cubism (and many other art schools) includi...I like cubism (and many other art schools) including Nude, but I hadn't before heard the explanation of LHOOQ, and my mind instantly leaped to the translation and a memory: When I was living in Avignon (Provence), one evening I was walking down the street with friends who were drilling me on pronunciation of the alphabet. I was practicing 'Q', repeating it over and over and my friends said we were getting stares because it sounded like I was saying 'cul, cul, cul,' (or 'ass, ass, ass.')<br /><br />Very enjoyable post but now I've got some reading to do…Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-89604536787060397182012-10-19T10:00:18.776-04:002012-10-19T10:00:18.776-04:00Wow, Dix, talk about the other shoe dropping many ...Wow, Dix, talk about the other shoe dropping many years later. As I looked at the graphics in your post, I suddenly saw the spiral staircase and the human figure clearly for the very first time. I'll never be able to see the shingles again. :) Nor had I ever gotten "Elle a chaud au cul" before. ;) We live and learn!<br /><br />BTW, there are two versions of Nude, both in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Both can be seen on the museum's website. You reproduced No. 2. I think No. 1 is even clearer. Elizabeth Zelvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13944424094949207841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-26594320588543839382012-10-19T02:17:07.968-04:002012-10-19T02:17:07.968-04:00Only after my post had gone up (naturally!) did I ...Only after my post had gone up (naturally!) did I spot that I'd written "tenant" instead of "tenet" when discussing <i>Detection</i>. <br /><br />Unfortunately, the way the Chrome Ceiling seems to interact with Blogger often results in problems saving changes to my posts. Consequently, I chose to leave the error in place, and to add this footnote as the first comment, for clarification.<br /><br />--DixonDixon Hillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11220791609338404147noreply@blogger.com