Block blindfolded: test yields conversation on history of mystery

I don’t usually draw attention to things on other blogs, figuring the rest of the web will take care of that while I cobble together my occasional (and increasingly rare) missives about whatever is interesting me at the moment. But a post (and the term does his effort a disservice) at Ethan Iverson’s blog Do the Math is worth noting.

Iverson is the pianist for the modern jazz trio the Bad Plus. As if that’s not enough talent for one man, he is also a very sharp observer of and commenter on mystery and crime fiction . He was granted an audience with Lawrence Block recently, and, as he writes, “He’s been interviewed so much:  what new questions could I possibly ask him?”

The answer? A “blindfold test.” Anyone who has read a jazz magazine is familiar with the concept. There, a musician is played songs by other artists and is asked to comment. The twist is that the person in the hot seat is given no information about the work, so any preconceived notions are lessened. In addition, it is always interesting to read about musicians who are so well-versed in the work of their peers that they can discern within a few notes the work of another.

For this feature, Iverson photocopied the first few pages of a dozen mystery and crime fiction novels, blacked out the titles and authors, and asked Block to read and comment. In some cases, he knows the work and offers interesting anecdotes. In others, he is stumped, but, once the creator is revealed, has fascinating things to say about the work or the author.

As a long-time fan of Block, I have read dozens and dozens of interviews (and have conducted a few of my own), so I must admit that I have skimmed some of the coverage that has been afforded his wonderful return with A Drop of the Hard Stuff.

For me, it is most interesting to see how the Block of today is different from the Block of old. In 2007, he told me there was one more out-of-print book coming from Hard Case Crime (A Diet of Treacle), but, “I don’t think there are any others I’d be happy to see reprinted, but greed does have a way of triumphing over principles, so we’ll have to see.”

Greed won, of course, as the then-still novel idea of publishing books exclusively in ebook form allowed Block to bring a couple dozen old book back into the marketplace.

Such analysis doesn’t necessarily add anything new, however. Iverson’s work, in contrast, does. I won’t spoil things and reveal the books or authors that he puts in front of Block, but suffice to say it sparks some very interesting conversation. If you want to take the blindfold test yourself, go here before you read the interview.