hello,
just finished _when the sacred gin mill closes_. moody, dark,
and intense.
i thought lawrence block did a good job of drawing matthew
scudder. it would have been easy to tip the scales too far
and leave scudder coming off as nothing more than a pathetic
bitter drunken ex-cop, and the book as not much more than a
melodrama. but the more accurate description of scudder is
apathetic, i think. he has a hard time feeling almost
anything. he's numb. probably caused by an accidental
shooting while on the force, and his separation from his wife
and boys. and thats stacked on top of all the other stuff
he's witnessed as a cop.
his salvation is the cases he takes on for his friends. thru
them he seems to sort out and salvage some worthwhile
feelings.
there were images in the book that reminded me of the
"world gone crazy" scenes in the movie _apocalypse now_
(based on conrad's heart of darkness), like the guys setting
up the mortar and firing it into the river, or the
transsexual in the church.
his frequent trips to church reminded me of jake barnes in
_the sun also rises_. with both characters, i'm never sure
whether they are just going thru the motions to preserve
their sanity, or are true believers.
miker
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