tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post7659274815465762046..comments2024-03-29T07:10:56.925-06:00Comments on Mysteries and More from Saskatchewan: Are Rural Mystery Series more Unique than Urban Mysteries?Bill Selneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-17536187571875932352012-05-21T17:03:50.541-06:002012-05-21T17:03:50.541-06:00Maxine: Thanks for the comment. Maybe you could do...Maxine: Thanks for the comment. Maybe you could do a post on whether they are different.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-46198655058048905912012-05-21T07:24:25.815-06:002012-05-21T07:24:25.815-06:00Not sure, Bill! Maybe!Not sure, Bill! Maybe!Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-22747655956776783922012-05-20T12:10:59.337-06:002012-05-20T12:10:59.337-06:00Maxine: Thanks for the comment. It was interesting...Maxine: Thanks for the comment. It was interesting to hear your perspective, especially on UK crime fiction. Is a micro environment different from a neighbourhood? I think for a series to be closely connected to place there needs to be a closed or clearly defined community in which it is located.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-8006354067177567532012-05-20T03:26:38.377-06:002012-05-20T03:26:38.377-06:00A thought-provoking post, Bill. I wonder if the ru...A thought-provoking post, Bill. I wonder if the rural/urban distinction is something that is also dependent on whether one is reading a book set in an area one knows nothing about? For example, more Swedish novels I read are set in towns, and I find them extremely good accounts of communities in those towns. There are also rural Swedish books too, of course, equally convincing about a sense of place. I've never been to Sweden so perhaps these accounts are equally vivid to me?<br /><br />In the UK, we have a thriving crime fiction landscape, with novels set in most of our main towns and country areas. I have to say on thinking about it that I find some of the urban ones just as telling (location wise) as the rural ones - a good author conveys a setting well wherever that setting is. <br /><br />Quite a few of the urban UK novels, for example, use a London location, but set their books in the London micro-environment ---- and convey much about attitudes of one part of London to another which in reality is entrenched among Londoners and always has been, eg the nuances of property values, where is the best "villages", north/south of river, etc.<br /><br />Some UK authors do both - urban and rural - and do it well. Val McDermid is an obvious example. Martin Edwards writes a series set in the Lake District (rural) and another about a lawyer set in Liverpool (urban) - and the setting is integral to the books in each case.<br /><br />Of course there are always generic settings that don't have a strong location element, and equally there are books where the location overpowers the narrative. I guess I am going to end by writing that it is very hard to generalise! I do know that visiting California a couple of years ago was significantly enhanced by, eg, thinking of Harry Bosch books while in LA (the street names and locations such as Echo Park, so exciting!) and of Sue Grafton while in Santa Barbara.Maxine Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06628509319992204770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-22234265437754167922012-05-19T22:05:42.247-06:002012-05-19T22:05:42.247-06:00Margot: Thanks for the comment. I was sure you wou...Margot: Thanks for the comment. I was sure you would have good insights into the proposition. Your examples are terrific illustrations of big city communities. Until I spent quite of time in Toronto in the mid-1990's I had not appreciated the neighbourhoods around downtown.Bill Selneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17268006369157307593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1644690488802388716.post-2107899792686629482012-05-19T21:02:59.766-06:002012-05-19T21:02:59.766-06:00Bill - First, thank you for the kind remarks. That...Bill - First, thank you for the kind remarks. That means an awful lot to me. You make a really well-taken point in this post, too. Cities, if you think about it, are groups of small communities. So within one small part of a city (I'm thinking of Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman series for instance, which takes place in Melbourne)one can have a series that is closely linked to its setting. But in other series (for instance P.D. James' Adam Dalgliesh series which takes place in London) there is often less of a connection. That said though, I think there are certain series (e.g. Tarquin Hall's Vish Puri series that takes place in Delhi) that are unmistakeably linked with their communities. As you say, it isn't nearly as easy as with a smaller community and it takes a very deft hand. You've given us a lot to think about, Bill, for which thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com