Dated Books

[Bill Crider]

On the occasion of the death of Donald Hamilton (one of the greats in my opinion), I decided to re-read a couple of his novels. The two I chose were Murderers’ Row (1962), from the Matt Helm series, and Line of Fire (1955), a standalone. I enjoyed both of them immensely, and yet while I was reading them I had a feeling that some readers would say, “How can you like stuff like that? It’s so dated.” The answer is simple. I don’t have any problem putting myself into the era in which the books were published.

Easy for me to say, right? After all, I was around then, and in fact I read Murderers’ Row right around the time of its original publication. But that’s not it. I don’t have any trouble reading Jane Austen or William Shakespeare, either. In their way, they’re as much products of their times as anything else. Ah, but they have Universal Themes. Maybe. But you can’t really get much from them if you don’t know a little bit about the period in which they were written, and the more you know, the better.

But the language is stilted. It’s true that writers in different times used a style that might take a little getting used to. I don’t have a problem with that. I can read Poe and Hawthorne and Melville without a struggle. Or Hammett and Queen, for that matter. Others might not be able to adjust.

I know there are plenty of writers who avoid putting anything into their books that would tie them to a time period. They don’t mention songs or TV shows or Burger King. Not me. I put all that stuff in. I figure that if future readers are going to find the books dated, that’s not my problem. I just hope I’m lucky enough to have a reader in the future.

So what do you think? Read any “dated” books lately. Avoided putting a mention of Sanjaya into that novel you’re working on?

[Bill Crider]

People don't seem to complain about movies being dated as often as they do books. Or maybe I just don't hear them.

[norby]

I remember the first time I picked out a book by Dell Shannon to read. It was an early one, from the sixties. Some of the references and stereotypes almost made me laugh out loud, but then so does watching an episode of Dragnet. I don't mind dated books, in a way it's part of the charm. As long as my requirements for an enjoyable tale, good characters and a good story, are met, I can deal with things being a little dated.

Since I spend my life surrounded by eighteen year olds, sadly, there are those who would probably say I'm a little dated.

[Bill Crider]

You gotta love that charm. At least I do. Those 18-year-olds don't realize how dated their iPods will be in 40 years.

[norby]

It's not the iPods they should be worried about-it's the clothes. I've seen people wearing flip flops in the snow. (the fact that I find that odd shows I'm dated I suppose) Not to mention muffin tops, tramp stamps, and coin slots.

[Alan Cranis]

Truly evocative, effective writing that transports readers to the time they were written will always be worth reading. Are the Sherlock Holmes stories "dated?" Well, they are in the sense that you immediately feel the London in the time they take place. I feel that really "dated" writing is the type that seriously distracts from the characters and story -- the heavy-handed cultural referances that try too hard to be within their moment and add nothing to the story. What bothers me more is cultural referances used as a sort of shorthand, or what feels like an excuse for lazy writing. Like describing someone having "Jack Nicholson eyes."

[Bill Crider]

How about heavy-handed cultural references in a historical mystery written by a current author? That bothers me more than the same thing in an old book.

[Alan Cranis]

Sounds like an author who fell in love with his research and forgot about telling the story. Yep, that's enough to cause me to slam the book shut and forget about it.

[Donna Moore]

Oh yes, that's most annoying. There you are, in the middle of an exciting scene where the serial killer is about to drop violet petals around his victim...

"Suddenly, Slashing Steve was distracted by a bee flying across his line of vision. Bees are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila. There are slightly fewer than 20,000 known species of bee, though many are undescribed and the actual number is probably higher. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Many species of bees are poorly known. The smallest bee is the dwarf bee (Trigona minima) and it is about 2.1 mm (5/64") long. The largest bee in the world is Megachile pluto, which can be as large as 39 mm (1.5"). ..."

Bugger the damn bees! Get back to the story. I want to find out how the serial killer inserted an origami figure of The Statue of Lierty into the chest cavity of his victim.

[Bill Crider]

Maybe the killer could should insert a bee and make all the info relevant.

[Bill Crider]

Me, too, often as not.

[norby]

That's exactly what I hate-the "period" novel. If the author has to spend just as much time explaining everything in the background of the room as they do telling the story, then there is no way I'm reading that story. I think there may have been a rare exception to this, but I can't even remember what.

[Christa Faust]

I actually enjoy "dated" books. I like that unselfconscious window into another time and I like stretching my brain to accept a very different way of thinking. What I don't like is when the author's desire to be perceived as hip, trendy and cutting edge gets in the way of the storytelling. The thing that makes a book come across as unintentionally funny and dated in a bad way is a writer's heavy handed desire to prove they are in-the-know about some trendy subculture that is no longer trendy.