[LMB] Dick Francis (was: trashy books for guys - what's the difference?)

[Irene Delse]

Peter H. Granzeau wrote:
>
>
> I forget the titles, but I think my favorite was the trans-Canada train trip.
>
>   

It must be _The Edge_.

BTW, I enjoy Dick Francis a lot, myself. I must have read every one of 
his books at least once, either in english or in french translation. Of 
course, I have a strong taste for thrillers, action/adventure and all 
sorts of murder mysteries.
The books are definitely
But I don't think one can qualify Francis as a "men's adventure" writer, 
or not *only* that. His books have fast-paced action, suspense and 
flashes of violence, but there's also a lot of sociological observation 
woven into the story, in a way that makes you feel you intimately 
understand life in whatever microcosm the story is set. The early novels 
were nearly exclusively about horse riding and the racecourse industry, 
but Francis was also a journalist and his novels cover a lot of social 
and cultural ground: from investment banking to pro photography, from 
noble mansions to waiting at tables or to a veterinary practice...

I'd say it's escapism, catering to both low and high places. In 
_Longshot_, there's even a story about a writer, a man who tries his 
hand at adventure novels after doing travel advice books (the kind for 
people who want to trek through desert and jungle). And I feel it a very 
honest book, from a writer's point of view.

-- 

Irene Delse


Mon blog d'écrivain : http://www.irenedelse.com/