Undiscovered Talent of Charles Willeford

With an introduction into the writing world in the late 1940s, Charles Willeford brought a new voice to the pulp fiction genre and helped to shape its future. True science fiction fans may not place Willeford in the same category as such notable pulp writers as Isaac Asimov and Nelson Bond, but there is no denying that the writer did as much as anyone to move the literary genre forward. His works have received high praise from luminaries like Elmore Leonard that consider him to be one of the best detective writers of all time. However, a closer look at his crime novels show that he fits better in the pulp fiction genre than that of detective fiction.

As one reviewer once said, the style of Charles Willeford is unlike any other writer of the time. His main characters are often less than desirable, but Willeford’s ability to paint them in a way that attracts the reader remains a testament to his talent. The protagonists are usually quirky and have a specific focus in their actions. While most of the crime novels of the time relied heavily on dialogue or intricate plots, the stories written by Charles Willeford allowed his characters to move about freely within the story, without a defined plot objective. For this reason, his writing style is often compared to a camera that is slightly out of focus and showing actions in a different light than they would otherwise be seen.

As time has gone on since the end of the publishing career of Charles Willeford, more recognition for his work has arrived. Many writers are beginning to see the literary talent and the references in his work to such classic writers as James Joyce and T.S. Eliot. Attempts were made to turn some of his novels into motion pictures, but these have been largely unsuccessful. Other directors and screenwriters have made references to Charles Willeford, notable the director Quentin Tarantino who considers the writer one of his main influences.