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From: Jean
Date: 4/18/01
Time: 12:28:32 PM
Now I am reading this fiction book by Dean Koontz. "False Memory" which I highly reccomend. Not so much because this is one of his real scary page turners. But because he is telling us something.
The first 100 pages are even rather dull, but perist, it gets better.
Now there is an appropirate quote, that fits here in this discussions.
They are referring to the Manchurian Candidate in the opening line.
"Neither Dusty nor Martie had read it, because they preferred to read fiction" (I do believe that Koontz is saying that the Manchurian Candidate is non fiction) To continue:
"Indeed for Dusty, fictions was as much of a principle as it was a preference. IN an age when distortions, deceptions, and out right lies were the primary currencies in much of society, he had often found more truth in one work of fiction than in slop pails full of learned analysis."
Is Koontz saying that this book in which the quote is in is true. Or true with literary license. Or true with enoght fiction to make it readable and hang together. Is it true but just not this particular anti hero and hero.
If you happen to have been a John Mcdonald fan as I am, there is something very interesting in his book "Condiminum". McDonald wrote scads of books, always with his Travis McGee hero. Same plot Travis finds lady in distress. Dangerous people are after her. Travis saves her and beds her and looses her some way and goes back to his house boat and waxes philospocally with his neighbor.
But "Condo" was different, you could not even tell big Mac even wrote it. No Travis, different style. Now "Condo" was fiction based on truth. The graft and so forth in these big buildings that were going to fall down all along the west coast of Fla. as they did not meet the specks and the people who were supposed to catch it had been paid off. Complete change of style, with the true book.
Now I have read all of Koontz books. This book is a complete change of style. In fact his last 3 have been. He now has all the money in the world and has turned his attention to telling us who are listing that bad stuff is hapening in high places. It is not just wild paranoia of a few, it is real.
I have long believed that the big truths are in the fiction of the big writers. Remember that child hood song. "A frog went a courting and he did ride" Turns out this was a truism about the king of the time. Same thing, different time.