Hello, all.
Dave White's post and John Williams's reply bring up the main
problem in the Spenser debate. It's almost as if there are
two Spensers: Pre-Catskill and Post-Catskill.
Parker's best achievement was to create characters (Spenser,
Hawk, Rachel Wallace, Lee Farrell) who didn't fall into easy
categories. Hawk was a man, not a black; Rachel Wallace was a
woman, not a lesbian. Before Catskill, Parker took the time
to make them viable.
John's complaints (minority characters praising Spenser,
Hawk's posturing, Spenser's Bondish behavior) come into play
from Catskill on. Today, instead of tapping his characters'
potential, Parker paints in broad strokes. His writing *is*
full of quick fixes and self-conscious musing.
Each new subpar entry seems to prove Parker ran out of
material just before Catskill. If he had retired Spenser
then, how would we view Parker/Spenser today?
Gerald
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