Fri 28 May 2010
Reviewed by Marvin Lachman: BILL PRONZINI – Son of Gun in Cheek.
Posted by Steve under Reference works / Biographies , Reviews[10] Comments
by Marvin Lachman
BILL PRONZINI – Son of Gun in Cheek. Mysterious Press, hardcover, 1987; trade paperback, 1988.
Vol. 10, No. 2, Spring 1988.
Nineteen-eighty-seven was not a vintage year for books about the mystery. There were only eight submitted for Edgar consideration, and they broke no new ground. Yet, in terms of enjoyment many can be wholeheartedly recommended.
There was, first of all, Bill Pronzini’s Son of Gun in Cheek, the even funnier sequel to his 1982 Gun in Cheek (reprinted in 1987 by Mysterious Press in trade paperback), the book which should have won that year’s Edgar.
If you liked Pronzini’s first compilation of inadvertent, but hilariously funny, bad lines from the mystery, you won’t want to miss his second as he takes off after such creators of “alternate classics” as F.M. Pettee, James Corbett, and Michael Avallone.
More famous authors come In for their share of notice, especially when their copy editors let them down. Thus we get lines like the ones quoted from Brett Halliday’s The Violent World of Michael Shayne: “He poured himself a drink and counted the money. It came to ten thousand even, mostly in fifties and twenty-fives.”
There is also a section regarding B movies, especially the old Charlie Chan films. It’s all deftly organized, with some deliberately funny lines by Pronzini himself as a bridge. I read the book on my flight to Minneapolis for Bouchercon and attracted a bit of attention when I couldn’t keep from laughing out loud. Who said scholarship can’t be fun?
Editorial Comments: Here’s another– “The blonde strolled to the cabin and unlocked the door. She went in, leaving the door invitingly open. I looked at it and my red corpuscles began to get redder.” (Milton K. Ozaki, Dressed to Kill.)
Marv used his entire column in this particular issue of The MYSTERY FANcier to cover reference works published in 1987, books about the field of mystery and crime fiction. They (the books) won’t all be as funny as this one, and in fact I can guarantee that none of them will be. I’ll be reprinting these reviews over the next weeks on this blog. Even though Marv’s comments are 22 years old, for the most part they’re far from out of date.
Previously reviewed on this blog:
Gun in Cheek (by Mike Tooney)
May 28th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
It’s remarkable how recently 22 years ago is these days. Also remarkable, how poorly published SIXGUN IN CHEEK was…I haven’t searched very hard (though I should’ve), but I’ve never seen a copy, after thoroughly enjoying the two CF greatest thuds collections. Wonder which “Halliday” wrote THE VIOLENT DEPARTURE FROM REALISTIC CURRENCY…
May 28th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Todd
That’s a good question, one that never occurred to me to look up before. According to Al Hubin, those semi-immortal lines were ghost written by Robert Terrall.
— Steve
May 29th, 2010 at 1:27 am
Gun in Cheek is one of my favorite books on the genre. My Freeman Wills Crofts chapter in the book manuscript was somewhat influenced by it and I quoted from it there (Gun in Cheek has some material on British mystery). I have been meaning to read the sequel, but have not done so yet.
May 29th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Gun in Cheek and Son of Gun in Cheek are among my favorite books. I’ll even confess I’ve read as many of the titles in the book as I could find (with a few exceptions — somethings are too bad even for alternate classic status).
And it is nice that Bill took the time to sort out a few blunders by better writers — including some big names.
Barzun and Taylor’s CATALOGUE OF CRIME also reprints some notable howlers from the genre in the introduction the the various sections (‘Gems From the Literature’), including my favorite of all time:
“If Botesdale was on the premises, he might have raised objections to the murder of his wife.”
Miles Burton A WILL IN THE WAY
and as runner up
“I fancy he had the assistance of one of your more independent morons.
Virgil Markham INSPECTOR RUGBY’S FINALE
May 29th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
The Miles Burton quotation is deliberately “tongue in cheek” in context, however. Another I like from COC is the “so far from fully” quotation.
May 29th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
I keep toying with the idea of doing GRANDSON OF GUN IN CHEEK. I’ve amassed almost enough additiojnal “alternative classic” material overy the past twenty-something years to make it feasible. The problem lies in finding a publisher who would pay me enough (not a lot, just enough) to make it worth my time. Labors of love are all well and good, but when your sole income is derived from professional writing, you owe it to yourself to get paid for indulging in them. Given the sorry state of publishing these days, I’m afraid GOGIC will remain just a good intention.
Todd: I have two boxes of the trade ppbk edition of SIXGUN IN CHEEK in my garage. If you — or anybody else reading this — would like a signed/inscribed copy, let me know and I’ll sell you one cheap. I had as much fun researching and writing it, incidentally, as I did GUN IN CHEEK and SON OF GUN IN CHEEK and I’ve been told that you really don’t have to like Westerns to enjoy it.
May 29th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
I’d love a copy–especially inscribed–of SIXGUN IN CHEEK, Mr. Pronzini.
Should I contact you through your website to get and give the particulars? (By which I mean the price including shipping, and your mailing address for me; and my shipping address for you.) Or I can post my e mail address here if you wish…
May 29th, 2010 at 6:48 pm
What Rick Libott said.
May 29th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
I’ll forward all requests on to Bill, who’ll reply individually. You can also contact me directly — see the top of this blog page, and I’ll make sure your email is sent along to him.
— Steve
June 5th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
[…] and crime fiction. Preceding this one was Son of Gun in Cheek, by Bill Pronzini. You can find it here. […]