A local book group, of which I’m a member, recently read E George’s latest Inspector Lynley thriller ‘A Banquet of Consequences’ and an interesting discussion followed. The group mostly agreed that some scenes (to do with abuse and violent attack) were very graphically described, perhaps unnecessarily so, but then the same approach is followed in film these days. There must be much employment for skilled make-up artists, now that all the blood and gore is shown in such detail, rather than left to the viewer’s imagination. I recall a half-hour drama shown on British TV decades ago. It was called “Rats”, about a killer pack of the same on the rampage through a housing estate. Spine-chilling scary stuff, but we never saw a single rat! Here’s to the subtle skill of creating atmosphere, fear and suspicion, whether on the screen or in the written word, without necessarily spelling it out. Less is more.
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