My father came from a bookish family. Everyone had a substantial library. And though he was well-versed in the classics, I never considered the Old Man an intellectual in the Ivory Tower sense. More than anything, he was a voracious reader of detective stories and mysteries. I recall shelves of paperbacks, stocked with names like Dick Francis, Ed McBain, Ruth Rendell and John McDonald. One of his favorites was the Spencer series by Robert B. Parker.
I’ve never read any of these books but I feel a second-hand affinity for them–and I always appreciated their pulpy, sometimes racy covers. Reason I mention it is because Parker passed away a few days ago. He was 77.
Mr. Parker wrote the Spenser novels in the first person, employing the blunt, masculine prose style that is often described as Hemingwayesque. But his writing also seems self-aware, even tongue-in-cheek, as though he recognized how well worn such a path was. And his dialogue was especially arch, giving Spenser an air of someone who takes very few things seriously and raises an eyebrow at everything else. Mr. Parker’s regular readers became familiar with the things that provoke Spenser’s suspicion: showy glamour, ostentatious wealth, self-aggrandizement, fern bars, fancy sports clubs and any kind of haughtiness or presumption.
Spenser is, in other words, what Marlowe might have been in a more modern world (and living in Boston rather than Los Angeles). Unsurprisingly, Mr. Parker considered Chandler one of the great American writers of the 20th century. (He audaciously finished an incomplete Chandler manuscript, “Poodle Springs”). And he has been often cited by critics and other mystery writers as the guy who sprung the Chandleresque detective free from the age of noir.
“I read Parker’s Spenser series in college,” the best-selling writer Harlan Coben said in a 2007 interview with The Atlantic Monthly. “When it comes to detective novels, 90 percent of us admit he’s an influence, and the rest of us lie about it.”
went to Strand at lunch today...I have so much stuff on my "to-read" list. Think I'm going with Gay Talese's "Man of Honor" next...I've only ever read articles/essays by Talese so I'm excited.
I picked up Peter Golenbock's Billy Martin bio " Wild, High, and Tight" today though, I mean why not? I'm not a Golenbock lover, but for $10....
AB-Same authors, different bookshelves. The whole enchilada, Francis, McDonald, Parker, Ludlum, etc.
I don't have the same taste in books as my folks (and my brother), but I enjoyed me some detective novels when I was a mere lass. Robert Parker had pulp with wit, an enjoyable combo. I liked Poodle Springs.It wasn't a genre I stuck with, although Coben is decent.
[1] Strand rocks! I can peruse, getting lost in book titles for far too long. Enjoy the read. I, too have a long list. Currently, I'm reading Bridge of Sighs by RIchard Russo. It's good stuff.
Mr. Parker was a remarkable writer. Spenser seems to have been something of an alter-ego for him (based on thephysical description and the kind of dog he had), and was the epitome of "hard boiled." However, Parker also endowed Spenser with a remarkable set of values, some of which were far ahead of the time in which he began writing. Clearly, Spenser had something like a "knight in shining armor" sense of justice -once he took up a case, he saw it through.
But it was in writing about relationships that Parker really excelled. Spenser had one close (male) friend, Hawk. That he happened to be black (and that the two characters traded barbs back and forth about their differences) was striking, especially in his early books. written at a time when easy relationships between men of different races were unusual in life as well as in fiction..
And his relationship with his one true love (Susan, a shrink), lasting (mostly on, but occasionally off) throughout the series, demonstrated a wonderful respect Spenser had for women, and a real sense of equality far beyond the banal description of "liberated."
Parker's forays into westerns, a female PI (Sonny Randle) and his series about an alcoholic ex-ballplayer cop in New England (Jesse Stone) were perhaps less successful, but all retained an emphasis on morality, equality, and justice. If you ever want to read dialogue that is intelligent, witty, and carries a plot along, you need go no further than Parker's work. He will be missed.
Check out Parker's Double Play about a man (same typecast as Spenser or Stone) hired to be Jackie Robinson's body guard the year he broke into the Major Leagues. It's a light, fun read with plenty NYC, mob and racial references....not to mention baseball (!).