For me, _Early Autumn_ ranks as one of my favorite reads, perhaps
because it reflects a great deal of my personal life: a son raised by
a father who, for one reason or another, did not teach him the things
that men know, what Raymond Carver described as "the places to fish."
As a man who has always questioned and second guessed himself, I like
the man who, sure of himself, can help others. Yes, that help might
include solving a crime, but it goes to something deeper: a way to
live, to look at the world, as the cold gutless place in which we
live, and still see the slivers of light and warmth: friendship, love,
honor.
I realize these are just the things that irritate many, and I think
that's fine - not that you are irritated, but that in the vast sea of
detective fiction, no one author fits every reader. I have many fine
novelists left to read, and I do not argue that Parker is the
greatest, or anything of the sort. I do not pretend any authority
except this: I know what I like.
On 3/1/10, Stephen Burridge <stephen.burridge@gmail.com> wrote:
> As a casual reader of Parker's work, I read several Spenser novels back in
> the 1980s. The only one I really remember is the the one in which Spenser
> acts as father to a boy, which recent discussion leads me to believe must
> have been "Early Autumn". It struck me as unusual and interesting at the
> time; however I didn't read any more Parker until fairly recently, when I
> picked up "Hundred-Dollar Baby", as the best bet among a limited selection
> of paperbacks in a drugstore. As I recall I enjoyed aspects of the book, it
> seemed professional and smooth and I was initially pulled in to the story,
> but in the end there was too much of the contrived and sentimental about
> it. Most recently, I got a couple of the books for this Rara-Avis month,
> "The Godwulf Manuscript" and another one whose title I forget and which I
> have yet to read. (The blurb says it's the one in which Spenser's sidekick
> Hawk is introduced.) I really liked the '70s period detail of "The Godwulf
> Manuscript" (then contemporary, of course) and I thought the wisecracking
> was at a pretty high level; it was an entertaining read. A comparison that
> came to mind was "The Rockford Files", the first season of which I've been
> watching and enjoying. Both of course are enthusiasms of Kevin Burton
> Smith, of this list, and I wouldn't be watching Rockford if it weren't for
> his advocacy, for which I thank him.
>
> So there it is, not much to it, more impressions of a relative newbie, as
> are so many of my postings to this list. At this point my semi-informed
> view of Parker is that he was a smart and capable pro whose stuff can
> probably be counted upon to entertain, but not, for me, a
> particularly exciting or interesting writer.
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
-- Michael Damian Jeter New Orleans, LA Literacy, Music, and Democracy
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