I don't want to get too far off topic, but since the topic is
Westlake's opinion of his own books, I guess what I have to
say is relevant. My college degrees are in English, all the
way through grad school. It's almost a cliche in those
circles that the author is the worst critic of his own work.
He's just the writer, not the interpreter.
As for writers remembering their own work, at a Bouchercon in
San Francisco Robert B. Parker told the audience that he
didn't know why they were asking him questions, since they
knew a lot more about his books than he did.
He wasn't kidding. The audience remembered his work in
far more detail than he did. (I think Jim Doherty was part of
that audience.)
My favorite story about finding things in a writer's work
comes from Walt MacDonald, who once told Joseph Heller how
clever Heller had been in making Major ___ de Coverley his
symbol for God in CATCH-22. Heller looked over all
MacDonald's points and said that everything fit and, although
he'd never intended it, he certain planned to take credit for
it from that point on.
Bill Crider
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