Elmore Leonard writes the most unobtrusive prose ever. It’s like you’re not even reading a book! It’s like there are suddenly words in your head and you don’t know how they got there.
I just finished Get Shorty, and I gotta tell you, it’s impressive stuff. The plot is fine and good but the real thrill is watching the characters interact – they all have their well-defined perspectives and areas of expertise that affect how they relate to each other and their environment in a believable way. The plot, and this is a hell of an achievement, seems to proceed naturally from the way the characters behave rather than from the author mapping it out.
Leonard reminds me somewhat of JD Salinger, in that they both manage to drop fully-rounded characters in your lap without breaking a sweat, using nothing but tiny quirks and distinctions of voice. (Salinger’s short stories are devilishly impressive in this respect.) Truly, men worth being jealous of. (Or… men of whom it is worth being jealous? Shit, Elmore Leonard wouldn’t have this problem.)
are you using the word filet as opposed to fillet? Just mentioning it because there is no such word as filet, just fillet made to sound posh. No punchline to this I’m being serious.
Cool people get it. Mainly Fanning and Christina. But they’re not here.
Well Helpinstein
fi·let 1 (f-l, fl)
n.
A net or lace with a simple pattern of squares.
so there.