DETECTIVE NOVELS

New Zealand Listener, Volume 13, Issue 330, 19 October 1945, Page 5

DETECTIVE NOVELS

Sir,-I find it odd that your correspondent I.V.H.T. should be ready to pass judgment on a writer when he admits his failing tc complete reading even one of her books. He is apparently one of the literary impossibilities who

aH hes, Lae... -eeee eee OD oo eee See ee. demand a masterpiece in every department of writing and in every book. I fear he has been taken in by *the glib Edmund Wilson, who may be the great high panjandrum of critics but who, to my mind, places himself accurately when he states that prior to treading his recent collection of detective novels, he had read nothing of that kind since Sherlock Holmes. My experience of literary critics, anyway, is that outside the particular type of literature in which they normally specialise, their judgment is as podér as their knowledge is incomplete. I think that Wilson talks tripe, suiting my language to his, The current attitude of lofty contempt for detective fiction among some of the literati is a pose similar to that of the moviegoers who go only for the "characterisation and the photography"; and a close relation to the musically-inclined who venerate Wagner but: can’t bear Bach. It will pass, as do all such pretentious affectations. Meanwhile, I remain a "Died in the Wool" consumer of detective fiction-and enjoy it!

GORDON

INGHAM

(Epsom),

by your correspondent "Anon" as gute less. Silvester’s piano-drum-sax combination (later joined by the violin) does sound "poverty-struck" when compared with multi-piece bands, especially Ameri can, where showmanship and effect play such a big part. His band is styled a "ballroom orchestra" and as such has few equals. Tempo and melody achieve pers fect harmony-neither is sacrificed to the other’s advantage. To the swing-fan these musicians lack initiative, etc. They are in a rut-which is a very different thing from being in the groove. It is perhaps, unfortunate that Silvester’s recordings consist of solo passages throughout, which have a certain thinness. The same band playing in the flesh, at a dance, would not sound "thin" at all. However, "Anon’s" bone of contention is that he does not appreciate the music of Silvester and Bradley while he is having his evening meal or sitting at his fireside. It is a difficult situation. That is: the playing of music designed for dancing in an early evening programme presented primarily for the purpose of entertainment. "Gentle Annie" has that as the underlying theme of her letter. An entertaining dance programme for older folks would feature, perhaps, waltzes by the Orchestra Mascotte. Would the swing-fan be entertained? Perish the

thought!

H.

'EARTY

(Wellington). 43