tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post3693617157924420596..comments2024-03-25T11:29:25.356-04:00Comments on Existential Ennui: Peter Rabe and Sleaze Paperbacks, feat. His Neighbor's Wife (Beacon Signal #B542F, 1962)Nick Jones (Louis XIV, the Sun King)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17716508525331235684noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5448581132479481740.post-82141800032680952642013-03-01T11:58:18.991-05:002013-03-01T11:58:18.991-05:00You know, one thing I've noticed about Rabe is...You know, one thing I've noticed about Rabe is that he was much less playful than many of the authors he influenced. He could have written his own satiric self-mocking look back at his time in the sleaze trenches, but doesn't seem like he felt any inclination to do so. Very serious guy.<br /><br />You got me interested in this mini-trend represented by Dresner, Block, and Westlake (there's a law firm for ya), each of whom seems to have gone in very different directions with the basic idea.<br /><br />But what really struck me, once I got my copy of Westlake's book, was that the American paperback reprint cover from 1971 was clearly trying to look like the paperback cover for Portnoy's Complaint--same basic design, no illustration on the cover. The covers for Ronald Rabbit and Dirty Books both featured suggestive cover art. Adios came out so shortly after Portnoy's, there's little chance the latter was any influence on the former, which was probably written before Roth's book came out. Dirty minds think alike--but differently.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00271250698430923736noreply@blogger.com