> Hi all,
Since I was one of those who sent our votes for the Block
month and I just got my next year's novel out of my hands
(for a while, at least), I thought I'd give you my take on
the Man.
I've translated five of his Scudder books into Finnish and
recommended a few others for the publisher. The first I
translated was A Dance in the Slaughterhouse and I liked it a
lot, but I think the best of the Scudders are the first ones,
where he's fighting against the alcoholism, and the pinnacle
was reached in Eight Million Ways to Die and When the Sacred
Ginmill Closes. I don't think the Hal Ashby film of Eight
Million was all that bad. There were moments, at least in the
first half. And the actors were great.
I'm not that big fan of the Burglar series. The best of them
are quite fun, and of course Block knows how to write and
blows life even to the minor characters, but the whole
premise wears soon a bit thin. I've only read one from the
Thief series, and it was all right, but not that great. I
have to confess that I liked the Chip Harrison books better,
especially the last two, which are hilarious parody of Rex
Stout.
The early noir novels of Block are great, apart from Deadly
Honeymoon. That one didn't just work for me. His short
stories are masterpieces. His writing books I recommend to
everybody who's interested in the subject. I also think the
Keller stories and books are very enjoyable. Good
characters.
Random Walk has gathered dust on my self for a long time, as
well as Small Town. Maybe I should try one of them now. I'll
tell you then.
Tapani Bagge
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