Mack’s Comments (group member since Mar 17, 2019)

Mack’s comments from the Point Blank group.

Excellent discussion about one of my favorite noir novels. The first time I read it I thought the ending too abrupt, like Hughes didn't know how to finish it. With other readings, I no longer think that. I think Hughes foreshadow the ending earlier. Describing the earlier scene would probably be a spoiler.

I'll be interested in what you think of the film version. It is very different than the book. You have to forget the book and enjoy the film as it is.

In the podcast you mention an earlier Hughes noir, Ride the Pink Horse. I hope you consider it for a later podcast. I don't think it is as smooth as In a Lonely Place but it's worth a read. It is full of existential angst and loss of identity and the reader is practically bludgeoned with symbolism. It is set in Sante Fe, NM, not a usual location for a noir. It has some good stuff in it particularly, for me, the way it brings in Native Americans. It also has a good noir film adaptation that you have to not think of the book as you watch.