Did you read the title of this post and wonder “what the hell is he talking about? Are those even real words?” Well I don’t blame you. The whole sentence fragment sounds like nonsense.
But they are real terms, used to describe types, or ‘genres’ of Crime fiction. Normal people don’t describe books using genre classifications, but publishers and literary agents lust after them. So authors desperately trying to woo the industry and get it to pay them some sweet attention (and cold, hard cash) will shout out their genres to anyone who will listen.
My new book, Falstaff Gets Found, has a number of genre categories it could grease its way into. Crime? Yes. Detective? Yup. Thriller? I think so. Erotic? ….no, not unless you’ve got some really weird kinks and I do NOT want to know about it.
I’ve narrowed it down to either (or both) of the Crime subcategories of ‘Hardboiled’ or ‘Noir’. In part because I love the idea of these genres. Both came into existence in 20th century America, though you can always find an ancestral book or film from Europe that could be called the true start of the genre. Regardless, the two came into popularity in the U.S. of A.
Hardboiled was a product of the dirty thirties, the period between World War 1 and World War 2. It has tough men fighting against dirty criminals and corrupt cops. The hero takes his lumps, but ultimately he perseveres and saves the day.
Noir emerged at the end of World War 2. It paints a world where no one is innocent, society is infested with liars, cheats and general scum. Even the heroes are flawed and morally questionable, trapped by their own weaknesses in a world that simply doesn’t care.
To be honest, John Falstaff is a noir ‘hero’. He’s a coward, a junkie, and a liar who is hiding from his past and the guilt he can’t escape. He fails routinely, usually due to self-sabotage. And there are no good people in this story. Some aren’t that bad, but some are real stinkers.
And yet, these awful, miserable wretches keep trudging forward. They find solace with each other. Maybe, some day, they will find some grace. That’s the door I’m leaving open for John. I don’t know if he’ll ever step through it.
Chris Loblaw, Author 