One city, one crime novel — but which novel?

I have in the past gently chided the Free Library of Philadelphia for the high-mindedness of its "One City, One Book" choices. Why can't Philadelphia do what other cities and institutions have done and sneak a Chandler or a Hammett in there once in a while?

Hammett has long enjoyed popular and critical esteem, and his work, I was surprised to learn recently, can appeal to younger readers. Julie M. Rivett, Hammett's granddaughter and recent editor, told me last week: "I talk to kids about Hammett. The Maltese Falcon has helped reach some reluctant readers."  Teenagers, she said, responded especially to the novel's celebrated "Flitcraft Parable," a story of sudden, cataclysmic, arbitrary change.

Alan Glynn's novels could serve as a springboard for discussion of corporate and government infiltration into our lives. Kevin McCarthy's could meet American interest in its immigrant populations and their histories. So could Paco Ignacio Taibo II's. Same with Andrea Camilleri's, which would also tally nicely with the boom of interest in cable television food shows and diversity in dining. Want a contemporary view of China? How about Qiu Xiaolong's Death of a Red Heroine?

If Philadelphia wants to stay local, why not David Goodis' Black Friday? Sympathy for the downtrodden. Survival against daunting odds. Finding one's own destiny.  Black Friday is full of big themes, the sort of thing to generate big discussion and draw in even readers who have not read the novel. Or how about Hammett's Red Harvest? That book would lend itself easily and deliciously to discussion of Philadelphia's history of rotten politics.

Or what about— But that's where you come in. What crime novel or story collection would you have your city, county, province, state, or country read? And why? It's not enough that the book be good or great. It must have the potential to appeal to readers young and old, to crime fans as well as to those who normally don't touch the stuff, and to those who might need a nudge to pick up a book in the first place. How does your choice meet these criteria? How will it grab readers the way "The Flitcraft Parable" snared Julie Rivett's teenage existentialists?
 
 © Peter Rozovsky 2013

Table 35: More from the Edgar Awards

More news from Thursday's Edgar Awards dinner, meat, potatoes, and prizes courtesy of the Mystery Writers of America:

1. I sat at the Soho table again this year, which meant I renewed acquaintances with the affable Ed Lin, whom I'd met previously at Bouchercon 2012 in Cleveland. Back then I'd been interested to learn that he has a novel set in Taiwan upcoming from Soho. This time, talk turned to his three novels set in New York's Chinatown around 1975. Lin said he chose that period because of turbulent events of the time on the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan, with old leaders dead or dying, and the Cultural Revolution drawing to an end.  What does that have to do with a troubled Chinese-American Vietnam vet cop in New York? I don't know, but I'm eager to find out. The novels are This is a Bust, Snakes Can't Run, and One Red Bastard.
2. Dennis Lehane, whose Live By Night won the best-novel Edgar, drew appreciative nods and murmurs for expressing his gratitude to bookstores. He also thanked libraries for putting books into the hands of "a kid from the wrong side of the tracks" free of charge.
3. Ken Follett, named a grand master along with Margaret Maron, displayed an enthusiasm for his work that made me think it must be great fun to write massively successful international thrillers. I haven't read Follett, but I may do so now. And that's what I like best about conventions and other crime-fiction events: Meeting, talking with, or just hearing new (or new to me) authors and, because of those meetings, getting excited about reading their work.

© Peter Rozovsky 2013

Bouchercon 2012, Day 4: A librarian makes my day

An oft-photographed scene in Tower CIty, Cleveland,
photo by your humble blogkeeper

As always, one of the pleasures of Bouchercon has been hearing, meeting, and becoming interested in authors I might not otherwise have noticed. In this case, I came to Sunday's politics and crime panel to hear Detectives Beyond Borders friends Lisa Brackmann and Stuart Neville and came away impressed as well with Allison Leotta. My favorite question of the panel came from the effervescent Brackmann, acting as moderator this time: "It's not really political, but what's with the golf [in your books], guys? I don't get it."

The 9 a.m. "Wartime Heroes" panel offered interesting remarks from authors Joanne Dobson and Sarah Shaber about the occupational opportunities that World War II offered to American women, the brief reversion to the status quo in the 1950s, and the explosion of feminism in the 1960s. The authors' answers were neither didactic nor preachy, and I anticipate with interest how they put this fascinating historical material to fictional use.

But I experienced no pleasure greater than an Illinois librarian's comment that she's an avid follower of Detectives Beyond Borders and that the blog has encouraged her in her choices of acquisitions for her library.

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Bouchercon is finished, except for the annual convivial post-convention dinner with Ali Karim and friends. As usual, it has passed way too quickly, and I offer special gratitude to the hospitable people of Cleveland, whom I may make the subjects of a separate post.  View the complete Bouchercon schedule here, and I'll be back soon with information about audio recordings of the panels available on CD.

© Peter Rozovsky 2012