Re Mario's Comment below:
> Somebody wondered whether the Dortmunder
> books
> share something with the Parker books. I have
been
> rereading (and completing) this series, so I
would
> say that
> in it, Westlake exercises a wholly different set
of
> muscles. These are the American equivalent of
P.G.
> Wodehouse. Characters like Tiny Bulcher, Murch
and
> Murch's
> Mom live in some sort of timeless fantasy
land.
Although Westlake does indeed use a "different set of
muscles" as Mario puts it, there is a connection.
The first Dortmunder book, THE HOT ROCK, was originally
planned as a Parker book, but as Westlake put it, "The book
kept trying to be funny." Since the one thing a Parker novel
CAN'T be is funny, he substituted another character, just as
smart, just as professionally dedicated, but not nearly as
ruthless, and certainly not nearly as lucky.
The result, come to think of it, is very much as though a
Parker novel was written by P.G. Wodehouse.
JIM DOHERTY
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