There was an interesting article in New York Magazine about what fictional worlds are particularly persuasive. Offered up was the bar in Cheers, Archie Bunker's neighborhood and various other fictitious places.
I once attended a talk where an
audience member challenged Ruth Rendell on the geography of Kingsmarkam. Ms. Rendell responded by reminding the person she'd invented it.What places do you believe exist once you close the book or turn off the TV or leave the theater? I would vote for McBain's 87th Precinct, the Oxford of Colin Dexter's Morse novels, and most of all the Baltimore of THE WIRE and HOMICIDE and the New Orleans of TREME. Now I realize these places exist but Simon breathes life into them for those who have never been or been there enough. He creates a fictional Baltimore or New Orleans in some respects by setting a fictional show there.
Perhaps no one has evoked two worlds more carefully and effectively. His first two series used the lens of crime to evoke Baltimore-although in THE WIRE institutions also came under his gaze: the schools, unions, politics, the newspaper business. Now in TREME he has broadened his gaze to include music, food, family relations, corporate and political greed.
What fictional world do you believe in? Who does a great job of making a setting come to life?
18 comments:
As a kid, it was Star Wars. As a youth, it was Indiana Jones. Bow, it's the world of Harry Potter.
Oddly, when it comes to "real world" stuff, they don't stay with me too much. I guess because I recognize them a's real. But among my favorites are: Foyles War, The Dawn Patrol, Castle, CSI: Miami.
Patti - I like Laura Lippman's Baltimore and Tony Hillerman's evocation of the Navajo Reservation for real-life world depictions. For fictional towns? Andrea Camilleri's Vigata and Louise Penny's Three Pines, among others, do it for me.
Neat idea. In middle school I lived almost exclusively in Robert E Howard's Hyborean Age. Later -- Dickens's London, Raymond CHandler's LA and Jim Carroll's New York.
Oh, and the Simpsons' Springfield.
I realize that my choices were authors that I read in bulk over a fixed period of time. Not writers that I read over a long period of time.
Oh, as a kid it was Archie's Riverdale, Superman's Metropolis, Laura I Wider's plains.
Raymond Chandler's San Francisco and Nero Wolfe's New York.
Bill Crider's Clearview and Louise Penny's Three Pines.
Michel
Barsoom, Kregen, Talera. Middle Earth, Alien worlds stay with me far better than realistic ones.
I'm with you on the HBO ambience (and Archie).
I might add music even on its own -- the Kinks, Stones, etc., created a semi-ficitional world I could step into when landing in London.
SF and fantasy and epic ancient stories can do this as well -- Tolkien, etc. The Iliad. Kafka. Tolstoy. Jane Austen. Céline, Proust.
So many to pick from. Three Pines is a good one. These immediately come to mind when talking about verisimilitude of place (Wow. I sound like Todd Mason).
Books: Anything by P.M. Hubbard. His settings are like characters in themselves. I could also leave a whole column of fantasy books, but I think you're looking for more realistic settings, right?
TV: The high school and students in Geeks and Freaks. Truest depiction of a 1970s high school ever. It was like watching video from my past. Spooky and damn funny.
Movies: The Master and the Commander really made me feel like I was part of that odd little microcosm of the British Navy of the early 19th century.
[Word verification is "consists." A genuine word. How'd that happen?]
I agree on David Simon. We got to see them filming a little of HOMICIDE outside the "police station" on a trip to Baltimore and bought a T-shirt from the show at "Munch's bar" across the street (which I still have).
Also agree on Tony Hillerman's Four Corners area. Even though I stopped reading them, I believe in Stepahnie Plum's Trenton.
Also St. Elsewhere's Boston. And the Hill Street Blues universe. And the world Roseanne lives and works in.
Jeff M.
When it comes to series, you have mentioned two favourites of mine, Rendell´s Kingsmarkham & Dexter´s Oxford.
And then there´s the classic, Miss Marple´s St Mary Mead.
Tried posting before ... I just finished an excellent book by Mitch Wieland, God's Dogs, most of which takes place in the Idaho desert. Poetically beautiful ... and I know nothing of deserts (was in just one for a few hours once). it's still in my noggin'.
Sounds great. I don't know if I've read a book set in Idaho.
I reviewed it last week at my place. I called it super writing ... then immediately ordered his first book (two starred reviews it received). God's Dogs is a collection of short stories that are a novel.
http://temporaryknucksline.blogspot.com/2011/07/super-writing-two-movies-and-tk.html
Raymond Chandler's L.A. (I know George said San Francisco, but Marlowe spent most of his time in L.A.) I read "Red Wind" and I can taste that hot dry Santa Ana wind in the back of my throat.
Also Anne McCaffrey. The Pern novels have a wonderful sense of place.
Modern mystery writer? William Kent Krueger tops them all. Louise Penny's Three Pines is very good too.
One of the most outstanding setting-come-to-life experiences hit me when I read WHITE SHADOW by Ace Atkins. Set in Tampa in 1955, the story swirls around the murder of an old-time crime boss, but the real star of this book is Tampa itself. Rarely does a setting come alive so vividly as it does here. All my senses were engaged and when I hit the last page, I still wanted to see more of old Tampa.
I wrote a review of this novel for my website. If you're interested, you can check it out here:
http://mikedennisnoir.com/?s=white+shadow&x=0&y=0
George either meant Hammett's San Francisco or Chandler's L.A., and he's be right on both. I have a soft spot for Gunsmoke's Dodge City.
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