Donald E. Westlake updates the Gold Medal-Everyman formula for 1997. Not much has changed for honest, hardworking guys since the Frustrating Fifties: They still chase the American Dream like dogs chasing cars, and, when they can't stand the frustration any longer, they cross over to the noir side. Westlake's Everyman antihero is Burke Devore, a middle-manger in the paper industry who has been downsized out of his birthright to the middle class. Though Westlake's narrative is flabbier than your typical Gold Medal PBO, his plot begins more quickly. While Gold Medal antiheroes typically cross into lawlessness by degrees, Burke Devore is fully noir on page one. This is a risky narrative choice: Before readers have a chance to feel sympathy for Burke, they must face the extremity of his behavior. Grade: B+
Loved this novel and posted this today. Patti
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patti. Loved it, too--maybe even more than the review lets on. Only reason it didn't make the A-list was that I felt a little gypped by the ending--but I try my best never to discuss endings if can help it. David
ReplyDeleteI've yet to stray into Westlake's stand alones. Too many series books to get to.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Not sure why I paused in the Parker series to read this one . . . it just seemed to be time to read it.
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