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Bummer of a way to start the New Year
Jan. 3rd, 2009 02:20 pmI came home from a very pleasant New Year's Eve trip to find out that one of my favorite authors, Donald E. Westlake, has died of a heart attack at the age of 75.
As the obituary notes, Westlake is best known for the "Dortmunder" novels written under his own name, and for the novels he wrote under the pen name Richard Stark about a criminal named Parker. He was also nominated for an Oscar for writing the screenplay for The Grifters (which was adapted from a Jim Thompson novel).
One of the more glaring omissions in my background as a reader is that I've never read any of the Parker novels. But me and John Dortmunder go way back.
In the mid-90s, I worked as a board operator for an AM radio station. My job was to be there. Every half-hour, I had to put in a new cassette of some hillbilly ranting about JAAAYYYY-ZUS, but mostly, my job was to have my ass in a chair. (This was, by the way, excellent training for my career as a QA contractor). I think I got more reading done in those few months than in any other several years of my life. One of my discoveries was Piers Anthony (which, yes, was perfectly adequate as a time-waster for a 23-year-old. I WON'T BE JUDGED BY THE LIKES OF YOU). My other discovery was Donald E. Westlake.
My first couple of Westlake books were a collection of short stories, of which the title currently escapes me, and The Fugitive Pigeon. They grabbed me enough that I picked up Bank Shot, which was my introduction to John Dortmunder. In the novel, Dortmunder and his gang steal a bank. Yes, the whole bank. I was hooked. Before I quit that job, I think I'd run through the library's entire Westlake collection. Unfortuately, I found myself with a lot less time for recreational reading, so I didn't really keep up on the series.
Not three weeks ago, just by sheer happenstance, I ran across my local library's copy of Thieves' Dozen, a collection of Dortmunder short stories. I loved reacquainting myself with Dortmunder and his milieu. It was a great reintroduction, and it would also be an excellent introduction for the first-time reader (translation: DO check it out, won't you?)
RIP, Don Westlake, and thanks.
As the obituary notes, Westlake is best known for the "Dortmunder" novels written under his own name, and for the novels he wrote under the pen name Richard Stark about a criminal named Parker. He was also nominated for an Oscar for writing the screenplay for The Grifters (which was adapted from a Jim Thompson novel).
One of the more glaring omissions in my background as a reader is that I've never read any of the Parker novels. But me and John Dortmunder go way back.
In the mid-90s, I worked as a board operator for an AM radio station. My job was to be there. Every half-hour, I had to put in a new cassette of some hillbilly ranting about JAAAYYYY-ZUS, but mostly, my job was to have my ass in a chair. (This was, by the way, excellent training for my career as a QA contractor). I think I got more reading done in those few months than in any other several years of my life. One of my discoveries was Piers Anthony (which, yes, was perfectly adequate as a time-waster for a 23-year-old. I WON'T BE JUDGED BY THE LIKES OF YOU). My other discovery was Donald E. Westlake.
My first couple of Westlake books were a collection of short stories, of which the title currently escapes me, and The Fugitive Pigeon. They grabbed me enough that I picked up Bank Shot, which was my introduction to John Dortmunder. In the novel, Dortmunder and his gang steal a bank. Yes, the whole bank. I was hooked. Before I quit that job, I think I'd run through the library's entire Westlake collection. Unfortuately, I found myself with a lot less time for recreational reading, so I didn't really keep up on the series.
Not three weeks ago, just by sheer happenstance, I ran across my local library's copy of Thieves' Dozen, a collection of Dortmunder short stories. I loved reacquainting myself with Dortmunder and his milieu. It was a great reintroduction, and it would also be an excellent introduction for the first-time reader (translation: DO check it out, won't you?)
RIP, Don Westlake, and thanks.
