Thank You Again, Ken Bruen!

He’s mentioned David Goodis in interviews and in his novels.

Hammering, hammering, hammering; but what did I know. Goodis couldn’t be that good; he had to be that good; who could really be that good; but if Bruen — Bruen! — said he was good, he had to be good, didn’t he…

All right, enough of my little Goodis pastiche there.

I just finished reading Dark Passage (it was also a Bogart–Bacall film that I don’t recall seeing; I probably did, just don’t recall it).

My God! Not only does Goodis write true human beings, not only does he understand human beings, he knows how to glide a knife into a reader’s head and then twist twist twist it. By the end of Dark Passage, I was wrung out!

Goodis did things I’ve never seen any other writer do. Not only is that exciting, it’s the mark of a real writer — a great writer.

I’ve got, thank God!, three other books of his from the NYPL. I hope to get through one of them today and the rest one a day.

Looking for something great to read? Goodis, Goodis, Goodis!

Previously in this blog:
Victor Gischler Has A New Internet Berth
Going Offline
Derek Raymond: He Makes All Others Look Like Shit
Just Read & Now Reading
No More Blogging Today. Blame Author Ken Bruen!
Get The Word, Nerd
Nerd Word