An interesting piece in the August 20 issue of The New Yorker about Philip K. Dick but drawing comparisons to Elmore Leonard. Being a long time fan of Phil Dick, and of course, Elmore, I found this article fascinating.
The return of Philip K. Dick.
by Adam Gopnik August 20, 2007
There’s nothing more exciting t an adolescent reader than a unknown genre writer who speak to your condition and has somethin great about him. The Ace paperbac cover promises mere thrills, and th writing provides real meaning. Th combination of evident value an apparent secrecy makes Elmore Leonard fans feel more for thei hero than Borges lovers are allowe to feel for theirs. When they tell you it’s going to be good, what more can you hope for it to be?
Eventually, enough of these secret fans grow up and get together, and the writer is designated a Genius, acquiring all the encumbrances of genius: fans, notes, annotated editions, and gently disparaging comprehensive reviews. Since genre writing can support only one genius at a time—and no genre writer ever becomes just a good writer; it’s all prophet or all hack—the guy is usually resented by his peers and their partisans even as the establishment hails him. No one hates the rise of Elmore Leonard so much as a lover of Ross Macdonald.
Read Adam Gopnik’s New Yorker piece here.