August 2013: Fadeout

[Johanna]

John wrote: "What had me revisiting the page was that I remembered reading that Hanson was married to Jane Bancroft, a lesbian, for fifty-one years. One wonders if it's the sort of arrangement Madge had in mind, or if, in fact, it's what Fox Olson's character should have had in a more forgiving world."

Well, that certainly makes one wonder. And what a lovely way Hansen is talking about his marriage that might seem quite unusual to others: "Here was this remarkable person who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with," he said of his wife. "So something was right about it, however bizarre it may seem to the rest of the world."

Thank you for posting the link to the article, John. This is from it, too:

For years, Mr. Hansen wrote books under the name James Colton, including, "Lost on Twilight Road" (1964); "Strange Marriage" (1965); and "Known Homosexual" (1968), later revised and republished as "Pretty Boy Dead," the title Mr. Hansen originally wanted.

He also wrote books of poetry, other detective series, several non-detective novels and a biography of Don Slater, who founded the gay and lesbian magazine One in 1953.

Have any of you read anything else from Hansen than Dave Brandstetter series?

[Johanna]

John wrote: "But where I see the similarity most strongly is the marvelous density of description. Short, direct sentences that paint a vivid scene like a paintball gun hitting it's target. I've always admired that about Josh's work, and I admire it in Hansen's."

I couldn't agree more. And I love the paintball metaphor! :-)

[KC]

Anne wrote: "...one thing that has stuck with me, and that is how Hansen care about the people in his books, how compassion shines through for people in very different situations. There is a kind of humanity that flows throughout the books, at least that's how I remember them and what I found in Fadeout, which wasn't among the ones I had read by the way. "

This is what made me fall in love with these books, and i couldn't find a better way to express what i felt except for it being so utterly 'human'. I agree that Hansen has a way of caring for his characters, and Dave himself is... packed full of so much emotion, he seems so curt sometimes but he has so much compassion (i'm also thinking of the scenes with the child/youngster in Death Claims if i'm not confusing). And even though there is a general sadness about him, it's so realistically portrayed, just a normal person, with normal heartaches, and thoughts, and flaws, nothing too extreme in any way, or so it seems. And the atmosphere in the books wraps around him so beautifully!
(sorry for sort of jumping in here, i'm still trying to catch up with the thread :-))

[KC]

Johanna wrote: "John wrote: "What had me revisiting the page was that I remembered reading that Hanson was married to Jane Bancroft, a lesbian, for fifty-one years. One wonders if it's the sort of arrangement Madg..."

Not yet, but after The Challenge! i want to find Jack of Hearts (Nathan Reed, #1).

[Antonella]

KC wrote: "I agree that Hansen has a way of caring for his characters, and Dave himself is... packed full of so much emotion, he seems so curt sometimes but he has so much compassion (i'm also thinking of the scenes with the child/youngster in Death Claims if i'm not confusing)."

I think you mean Buddy in ''Fadeout''.

[KC]

Antonella wrote: "KC wrote: "I agree that Hansen has a way of caring for his characters, and Dave himself is... packed full of so much emotion, he seems so curt sometimes but he has so much compassion (i'm also thin..."

I do. Thanks :-)

[Karen]

One of the things I'm finding particularly striking as I re-read Fadeout is how "full" this relatively short book is — meaning that there's so much to it, in the depth and attention given to so many characters, the winding possibilities of where this story might be going, how Dave's personal life and this mystery align in subtle ways. And yet aside from some of those baroque descriptions of nature, the story is told with a kind of "slim" precision, the economy of the master storyteller. (Again, like Josh.)

[Marge]

Karen wrote: "One of the things I'm finding particularly striking as I re-read Fadeout is how "full" this relatively short book is — meaning that there's so much to it, in the depth and attention given to so man..."

That's one of the thing I love about it, too. I have read (mostly) straight and (some) gay mysteries over the years and fully enjoyed them. The mystery part was fine, the action worked, etc. But it was those teeny, tiny touches of humanity or the personalities of the main characters that I liked the most.

For example, with Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries, the whodunnit is great, Wolfe's peculiarities are a hoot, and the denoument scene is perfection. But what do I remember most about the books? Oh yeah, that's the one where Archie nearly got gored by the bull, THAT'S the one where Wolfe had to leave the house, that's the one where Archie quit--almost for real that time. Is it any wonder In the Best Families is one of my favorites?

I digress. Hansen shows us many of these small personal touches. He teases us with just a bit here and there, but in the end we have a lovely picture of Dave's life with Rod, occasional flashes of a disagreement, with an ending that still pains him. The mystery is interesting, too, but what I'll remember about this book is how Dave moves through the grief, and how he is beginning to do something besides sleepwalk through his life.

[Johanna]

Karen wrote: "One of the things I'm finding particularly striking as I re-read Fadeout is how "full" this relatively short book is — meaning that there's so much to it, in the depth and attention given to so many characters, the winding possibilities of where this story might be going, how Dave's personal life and this mystery align in subtle ways. And yet aside from some of those baroque descriptions of nature, the story is told with a kind of "slim" precision, the economy of the master storyteller. (Again, like Josh.)"

Yes, I'm nodding, Karen. That's exactly how I feel too and I'm happy I didn't have to try to write it down, because you said it perfectly. :-)

[Johanna]

Marge wrote: "But it was those teeny, tiny touches of humanity or the personalities of the main characters that I liked the most."

*more nodding* :-)

[Johanna]

KC wrote: "I agree that Hansen has a way of caring for his characters, and Dave himself is... packed full of so much emotion, he seems so curt sometimes but he has so much compassion"

This made me think of a scene with Buddy that I had post-ited (pages 87-89). This is the chapter 21 where Dave finds tired, miserable Buddy alone without anybody taking care of him at home. While Dave is helping Buddy into his pajamas he's thinking: And if Buddy had the patience for a lifetime of this, Dave had it for one night.

I found the scene and that particular line very touching.

[Josh]

Marge wrote: "But I was sad that he didn't feel truly "successful" since none of his books had been made into a movie. Surely much of this feeling had to come because Hansen lived in LA, where so many lives revolved around the entertainment industry, especially back in the 60's-80's. I can't help but wonder if he'd lived in New York or even somewhere in the middle of the country, would he have not felt this lack so deeply.
..."

Hansen happened at a turning point in publishing and the mystery genre. He arrived in time to be published, but not in time to receive the acclaim and praise he truly deserved. Even today he is relatively obscure in mystery fiction, despite the fact that he was writing at a much higher level of excellence than the vast majority of his bestselling peers.

Partly that is simply to do with content. Gay fiction is never going to have the readership of mainstream fiction. We forget that because we are experiencing unprecedented success in our little corner of romance. But our unprecedented success is still not successful enough for most mainstream publishers to bother with.

And so it was with Hansen. No one could deny his skill, his craft. But he was bounced from respected publisher to publisher. He was mostly classified as "literary" mystery. The PWA put off giving him a lifetime achievement award as long as they possibly could. And in the end he had to self-publish his final book through Xlibris. And that was when self-publishing carried the stigma of F-A-I-L.

None of this would be sad if it hadn't mattered so much to Hansen. But it did matter. He wanted "success" and he was lonely at the end.

It breaks my heart.

[Susan]

Josh wrote: "He wanted "success" and he was lonely at the end. It breaks my heart."

Josh, your homage to Hansen in, The Hell You Say, always tears me up.

[Josh]

Susan wrote: "Josh wrote: "He wanted "success" and he was lonely at the end. It breaks my heart."

Josh, your homage to Hansen in, The Hell You Say, always tears me up."

Thank you, Susan.

[Becky]

Johanna wrote: "This made me think of a scene with Buddy that I had post-ited (pages 87-89). This is the chapter 21 where Dave finds tired, miserable Buddy alone without anybody taking care of him at home. While Dave is helping Buddy into his pajamas he's thinking: And if Buddy had the patience for a lifetime of this, Dave had it for one night.

I found the scene and that particular line very touching."

Oh yes, I liked that too. It's moments like that which show what a character is made of as much as what they do in the big, high stakes moments. I suppose it's a "save the cat" moment. Shows us that Dave is definitely a good guy.

[HJ]

Josh wrote: "Marge wrote: "But I was sad that he didn't feel truly "successful" since none of his books had been made into a movie. Surely much of this feeling had to come because Hansen lived in LA, where so m..."

Josh, you're bringing his books to the attention of a whole new audience. I'm sure he appreciates that.

[KC]

Marge wrote: "Karen wrote: "One of the things I'm finding particularly striking as I re-read Fadeout is how "full" this relatively short book is — meaning that there's so much to it, in the depth and attention g..."

This is exactly why i love these books so much. I tend to confuse the mystery plot details from one book to another, but i have a complete emotional picture of how Dave is moving through his life.

[KC]

Johanna wrote: "And if Buddy had the patience for a lifetime of this, Dave had it for one night"

I think those scenes with Buddy changed my understanding of Dave, because we get to witness his sadness, and his curtness, but these scenes prove how deeply caring he really is.

[HJ]

KC wrote: "This is exactly why i love these books so much. I tend to confuse the mystery plot details from one book to another, but i have a complete emotional picture of how Dave is moving through his life. .."

Exactly right.

[KC]

Josh wrote: "None of this would be sad if it hadn't mattered so much to Hansen. But it did matter. He wanted "success" and he was lonely at the end.

It breaks my heart.
"

If it weren't for people like him, i'm not sure this happy corner would even exist. It's so sad that he didn't get the recognition he wanted, but he didn't give up, so i hope that means he did get some comfort from doing something that he believed in.

[Karen]

Josh wrote: "Hansen happened at a turning point in publishing and the mystery genre. He arrived in time to be published, but not in time to receive the acclaim and praise he truly deserved. Even today he is relatively obscure in mystery fiction, despite the fact that he was writing at a much higher level of excellence than the vast majority of his bestselling peers."

Thank you for these insights, in THYS and here. Touching on your comments on the seeds for In Plain Sight, the word that comes to me is "regret," the same word that Dave explores in Chapter 6. When Hansen was living, I was reading mysteries, I was reading gay fiction. How did I miss his work? And if I'd found it, would the then-me have had the gumption to send a note of appreciation? "Be here now" still has a lot going for it.

"...In twenty years you could store up a lot of regrets... you could stop sleeping for regret, stop eating, talking, working, for regret. You could stop wanting to live. You could want to die for regret. Chap. 6, p. 27

[Josh]

Karen wrote: "Josh wrote: "Hansen happened at a turning point in publishing and the mystery genre. He arrived in time to be published, but not in time to receive the acclaim and praise he truly deserved. Even to..."

I hate the fact that I never sent him a note. I never sent Elizabeth Peters a note. I never sent -- I never send notes! Why? When I know first hand how much they mean?

[Jordan]

But no matter how much you regret, you can't change the past! That's one of the hardest things about life.

How does one measure success in the end, surely he was successful, even if he didn't think so while he was living. We can only hope he recognizes now that not all successes mean bright lights and glitter and that he was successful in his own quiet way. His books are still being published and read, and that, is a great measure of success right there.

[Johanna]

Feel free to continue discussing Fadeout on this topic, but I also set up new topics for Death Claims and Troublemaker. You can start discussing those both whenever you want. Let's keep on discussing Brandstetter series a book or two per month. We'll soon see how that'll work out (or if we need more strict/organized schedule). So, let's read and discuss Death Claims and Troublemaker in September, and see how that goes. :-)

[Uli]

Soooo, confession time...
I signed up for the challenge, am 12 books behind, and - after actually being in the same hemisphere as my book for the past 4 weeks - I had to abandon Mr. again after only 50 pages, because now I am back in the place where no 3 kg book can go... :D :D (due to luggage restrictions...)

Of course this is not Joseph Hansen's fault, but only mine. I blame a little bit the fact that "The complete Brandstetter" is so difficult to handle (literally...), though. I will have to start over once I am back home. I hope my arms will not be too weak to hold the book then. :D

Due to me trying to participate in this challenge I will now probably fail in both of my challenges (2013 + this one).