Re: Father Figure (was Re: RARA-AVIS: Positions still open)

From: Jeff Vorzimmer (jvorzimmer@austin.rr.com)
Date: 19 Aug 2008

  • Next message: Stephen Burridge: "Re: Father Figure (was Re: RARA-AVIS: Positions still open)"

    > The problem is not that Burke repeats the stories (he doesn't) but
    > that his series is very protagonist-centered. If you get sick of
    > Robicheaux and his shtick, that's it. I like Robicheaux but whenever I
    > read a Burke novel, I wait a long time before reading another. Too
    > many of the descriptions are similar, the bayou, the sky in the Gulf
    > announcing a storm, the guys burning sugar cane stalks and so on. But
    > his novels are solid works, likely to endure. At his best, he can
    > really involve you in the life of Robicheaux, a complicated guy with
    > all the makings of an imperfect hero. In my experience, Burke tells
    > the South like it is. His knowledge is very intimate.

    Not to mention the "open season on people" line, which he attributes at times to Hemingway, but I can't find it in any Hemingway novel or story.

    Jeff



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