I agree almost entirely with this. I don't agree that Elmore Leonard was over-praised. I think he was usually mis-praised. Leonard's art lay precisely in the writing qua writing, the seamlessness of dialogue and narrative, the timing, the rhythm, the beat. Reading Leonard at his best gives a pleasure similar to listening to a well-made fugue. The repetitiousness is definitely there, to be sure, but you only need the same 12 notes to write a great fugue. Of course, you have to know how to.
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