I have to intervene here: a character cannot be totally
predictable; otherwise he's a robot, not a character. This
applies to Parker, too. How could Westlake have a blueprint
for everything that Parker would and would not do throughout
his entire fictional existence? No writer can have that kind
of control, nor is it desirable. If, say, Parker falls in
love with a girl he meets during a caper, is that out of
character? If he suddenly realizes that he's older and
weaker, or less sure of himself, and as a consequence softens
his stance, for example by not killing certain people, is
that out of character? Does it invalidate a Parker novel as a
work of literature? The value of the Parker series lies in
that it's not a cartoon caricature.
End of mild rant, though it's a rant against nothing and
nobody.
Regards,
MrT
=====
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