Monday, November 05, 2012

Sour on Swedes plus more on NoirCon

The wise and discerning keeper of the Crime Scraps Review blog, long a champion of Scandinavian crime fiction, asks after reading Autumn Killing by Mons Kallentoft: "Are we now getting the average Swedish crime novel translated simply because it is Swedish?"
*
Back in Philadelphia, Jeremiah Healy is the latest NoirCon 2012 attendee to weigh in with his thoughts on the conference: 
"This will be my third NoirCon, and I attended the first two. I think my favorite story from the conference/convention was learning that David Goodis didn't just write noir: He also lived it, and probably more from desperation than enjoyment. ...

"NoirCon is different from most other conferences/conventions in that it is dedicated to a sub-genre of crime writing, something like the EyeCons (focusing on private-investigator fiction) sponsored by Gary Niebuhr and Ted Hertel in Milwaukee and Robert Randisi and Christine Matthews in St. Louis. As a result, it's like a wine-tasting dedicated to one varietal, say Pinot Noir (sorry), and therefore an event in which all the attendees have a common, if narrower, interest."
© Peter Rozovsky 2012

Labels: , , , , , , ,

4 Comments:

Blogger Becca said...

I am new to Noir fiction but I love Noir films, so I need to add some of these to my to read list.


Also, great question about the Swedish novels. It is the question of more accessible literature versus quality accessible literature I suppose.

November 05, 2012  
Blogger Kelly Robinson said...

I'm dying to go to Noir Con. I thought this would be the year, but I ended up as PR person for an event happening around the same time. Maybe next year.

November 05, 2012  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

Becca, I always add new authors to my list when Noircon comes around. Most of my crime reading is from outside the U.S., so Noircon always a few exciting new names for me. My posts last week under the title "Why They're Coming to Noircon" might give you a few more suggestions.

As for the Swedish novels, I think the question is purely commercial. Publishers think Swedish and other Scandinavian crime novels sell, so Swedishness becomes a bigger consideration than quality when they decide what to publish.

November 05, 2012  
Blogger Peter Rozovsky said...

In two years, Kelly. Noircon happens in alternate years, and I hope you're well-enough established in your job by this time in two years that you can take the time off.

November 05, 2012  

Post a Comment

<< Home