Burnt Orange Heresy
by Charles Willeford
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Book Summary Information
Author: Charles WillefordEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-12-20
ISBN: 0786706686
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Carroll & Graf
Book Reviews of Burnt Orange Heresy
Book Review: Disappointing!
Summary: 2 Stars
I read it because I heard Willeford was part of the triumvirate of Noir power-hitters that included Jim Thompson (who I love!) and David Goodis (also very cool).
But this book was a bore.
Horribly paced, no sense of dark humor, not at all edgy.
I kept waiting and waiting for the good stuff; it never happened. Instead you get lots of didactic passages explaining art history, art criticism, schools of art, etc, along with tons of superfluous details about the location of air conditioners, the brands of furniture and clothing, their precise dimensions, etc. Just look at Chapter 5 where the dialogue goes on for 15 pages (!) regarding all the tedious minutiae of the Art World. (Could've easily seen reduced to two simple expository paragraphs or one page.) And check out the "learned" words that are constantly thrown around: "synecdochic" and "nescience," etc. Yawn! Wanted less info and more action!
I can't believe this guy's style was been described as being "clean and tough" or that his words "fly off the page." Instead it manages to be both pedestrian and pedantic at the same time. Were these "notable critics" on crack when they read him???
In short, it's very mainstream-y. If you like those airport books written by the same names every year you'd probably like this. And if you liked Da Vinci Code you'd probably love it for giving you a (false) sense of having learned something (ha!) It's a "safe" read, i.e., won't disturb you or make you sweat. But that's not the essence of Noir. I think I'll stick with my Thompson and Goodis.
PS -- Maybe I should've read Miami Blues instead? I read Bored Orange Heresy because I heard it was his best. I'd appreciate it if anyone can tell me if Miami Blues is significantly better and more Noir-ish or just more of the same. Thanks!
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