Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s (Loa #95): The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-Up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers

This adventurous two-volume collection presents a rich vein of modern American writing too often neglected in mainstream literary histories. Evolving out of the terse and violent hardboiled style of the pulp magazines, noir fiction expanded over the decades into a varied and innovative body of writing. Tapping deep roots in the American literary imagination, the novels in this volume explore themes of crime, guilt, deception, obsessive passion, murder, and the disintegrating psyche. With visionary and often subversive force they create a dark and violent mythology out of the most commonplace elements of modern life. The raw power of their vernacular style has profoundly influenced contemporary American culture and writing.

LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Library of America
Published: 09/01/1997
ISBN: 9781883011499
Pages: 892
Weight: 1.29lbs
Size: 8.20h x 5.29w x 1.24d

Review Citations: Kirkus Reviews 07/15/1997 pg. 1074
Library Journal 09/01/1997 pg. 224
New York Times 11/30/1997 pg. 24