James Lee Burke

Kate Thornton · Aug 29, 2006

I just finished his latest Dave Robicheaux - Pegasus Descending

So if you are a Dave Robicheaux fan, have you read JLB's other mysteries? I read In the Moon of Red Ponies and liked it, but not as much as the New Iberia books.

And what do you think of his writing style? I happen to love it - flowery, intellectual, gritty and descriptive - all at the same time. I can't write like that, but I love to read it.

Gary · Aug 29, 2006

I just finished Crusader's Cross, but didn't like it as much as some of his other work. I have yet to read Pegasus Decending.

I've read several of his books over the years, and have mixed feelings about his writing. He usually has a good plot and interesting characters, but sometimes the darkness of his past comes through too much and that makes the story depressing. I will happily read every book he has written, but it's a style I have to take in small doses.

Arden · Aug 29, 2006

I think that he is the only author besides Walter Mosely in genre fiction that writes at the "literature" level. JLB writes a lot like Faulkner.

If you read his novels in the order that he wrote them you can follow his character's journey through the heart of darkness or, as Paul Simon would sing: through the cradle of the Civil War. I find him brilliant, provocative, with some novels better than others but all worth reading more than once.

He is the ONLY genre fiction writer that I stop to read sentences more than once to savor them.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 29, 2006

Arden said:
He is the ONLY genre fiction writer that I stop to read sentences more than once to savor them.

This is what I think is horribly wrong with his writing. The last thing I want is for a sentence to take me out of the story. He tells a good story, and usually has good characters, but for me, at least, the writing frequently gets in the way of both, something I can't say happens with Faulkner.

Arden · Aug 29, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
This is what I think is horribly wrong with his writing. The last thing I want is for a sentence to take me out of the story. He tells a good story, and usually has good characters, but for me, at least, the writing frequently gets in the way of both, something I can't say happens with Faulkner.

But then Faulkner is the greatest American writer of them all... period. No one, not even JLB, can touch him.

Great literature, in my experience, is far more than just a great story. It's writing that takes your breath away... the characters are complex, the language remarkable, the book stays with you for years, even a lifetime after you read it... as do certain sentences.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 29, 2006

great writing

Arden said:
But then Faulkner is the greatest American writer of them all... period. No one, not even JLB, can touch him.

Great literature, in my experience, is far more than just a great story. It's writing that takes your breath away... the characters are complex, the language remarkable, the book stays with you for years, even a lifetime after you read it... as do certain sentences.

I love great language, but great story and great characters have made far more lasting novels than great writing. Remembering a good sentence is fine, but no sentence should ever pull you out of the story. A sentence should be remembered for what it says, not for the way it says it.

Truly great writing is, in my opinion, invisible.

Calla Lily · Aug 29, 2006

Kate Thornton said:
Balancing good and evil in the universe, one story at a time.

Off topic, but what a great tagline!

Gary · Aug 29, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
Truly great writing is, in my opinion, invisible.

I agree!

Shadow_Ferret · Aug 29, 2006

I read one of James Lee Burke's novels once. Forgot which one. Forgot what the story was about. Guess he didn't leave much of an impression on me other than the writing wasn't something I wanted to tackle again.

BJ Bourg · Aug 30, 2006

Kate Thornton said:
I just finished his latest Dave Robicheaux - Pegasus Descending

So if you are a Dave Robicheaux fan, have you read JLB's other mysteries? I read In the Moon of Red Ponies and liked it, but not as much as the New Iberia books.

And what do you think of his writing style? I happen to love it - flowery, intellectual, gritty and descriptive - all at the same time. I can't write like that, but I love to read it.

Hey, Kate,

Kevin Tipple reviewed that very same book for the debut issue of Mouth Full of Bullets. Y'all must have been reading it at around the same time.

As a side note, I know a cop named Dave Robichaux. When I went to work for the District Attorney's Office here, he took my old job at the Police Academy.

bjb

P.S. I don't know about JLB, because I haven't read any of his books yet, but I think *you're* a great writer!

Kate Thornton · Aug 30, 2006

Jeeze, BJ - I'm blushing!!!!

I am anxious to read Kevin Tipple's review - I look forward to the premier next week.

I think you would really enjoy JLB's work - pick up an early one if you get a chance.

For everyone who thinks JLB's too difficult to read, get the book on tape or CD. I listen to books all the time as the stroke made my left eye weak and reading for any length of time is hard for me. I have sat in my driveway in 110 degree heat listening to the end of a JLB chapter. And the beauty of his language does not obscure the story for me as I listen - I find it enhances it!

Good Word · Aug 30, 2006

I think there was a thread about this somewhere a while back, or it may be in my psychic imaginings, but I read In the Moon of Red Ponies and loved the language and story, but I thought his POV was wierd.

Jamesaritchie · Aug 31, 2006

audio

Kate Thornton said:
Jeeze, BJ - I'm blushing!!!!

I am anxious to read Kevin Tipple's review - I look forward to the premier next week.

I think you would really enjoy JLB's work - pick up an early one if you get a chance.

For everyone who thinks JLB's too difficult to read, get the book on tape or CD. I listen to books all the time as the stroke made my left eye weak and reading for any length of time is hard for me. I have sat in my driveway in 110 degree heat listening to the end of a JLB chapter. And the beauty of his language does not obscure the story for me as I listen - I find it enhances it!

I wish I could listen to audio books, but unless they're actually set up and read as a radio play, with different characters doing the reading, and teh narrative adjusted accordingly, I just can't do it, no matter who the writer is. For me, there's a huge difference between writing that goes in the eye, and writing that goes in the ear. When I read, my mind and imagination are engaged. When I listen my mind soon wanders. Way too much like watching TV for my taste.

Kate Thornton · Sep 1, 2006

James - I have the same problem with my eye when watching TV as I do when reading, so I listen instead and only look at the pictures once in a while. I think I am so accustomed to listening that having someone read to me is just as satisfying as reading used to be.

gp101 · Sep 25, 2006

Arden said:
But then Faulkner is the greatest American writer of them all... period. No one, not even JLB, can touch him.

Whatever...

Arden said:
Great literature, in my experience, is far more than just a great story. It's writing that takes your breath away... the characters are complex, the language remarkable, the book stays with you for years, even a lifetime after you read it... as do certain sentences.

I'm with you on most of that. But define remarkable. Do you mean a string of 25-cent words when the nickel versions might work just as well? I don't like reaching for the Webster's when reading a novel.

On JLB: good writer, good plots, pretty descent characters. I still don't think he compares to Ellroy or Leonard in crime fiction.

jst5150 · Sep 25, 2006

I've visted New Orleans about six times. The way JLB describes it is spot on. Kate, you used the word "gritty." Perfect. There's a passage in the one JLB book I've read talking about a guy in a seersucker suit. It goes on for a few pages describing him and the surroundings. It's fricking tasty.

Unfortunately, my service in the middle east has me away from my book shelf or I could tell you the book's name ...

Kate Thornton · Sep 25, 2006

Might be "Cadillac Jukebox" - but you know, his descriptions are complete.

And be careful out there, jst5150!

James Lee Burke

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

Gary

Arden

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Jamesaritchie

Arden

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Jamesaritchie

Calla Lily

On hiatus

Gary

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

BJ Bourg

Flash Bang Mysteries

Kate Thornton

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Good Word

still crazy after all these years

Jamesaritchie

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere

gp101

jst5150

Vorpal Comics. Weekly Podcast. Twitch Artist. Vet

Kate Thornton

Still Happy to be Here. Or Anywhere