Olman's Fifty

glad to hear you finally got around to finishing t...

2012-05-30T15:53:00.296-04:00

glad to hear you finally got around to finishing this!

Amis didn't consider himself an Angry Young Ma...

2012-05-30T08:00:07.100-04:00

Amis didn't consider himself an Angry Young Man either, but that didn't stop him being lumped in with them back then. Pigeonholing is a perennial problem, it appears...

Ah good to know! I really should take the time to...

2012-05-29T16:40:25.579-04:00

Ah good to know! I really should take the time to absorb these things and learn about them a bit more, but I just put one book down and move on to the next!

I definitely agree about Jim in Lucky Jim. His special faces are a much more positive coping method! I didn't really consider Amis as being part of the Angry Young Men, but I guess that makes sense.

I'll check out the film.

It's not your modern perspective, Olman; Jimmy...

2012-05-29T15:53:48.135-04:00

It's not your modern perspective, Olman; Jimmy really is an arsehole. That's exactly what I remember thinking 25 years ago when we studied Look Back for English Lit. Personally I prefer Kingsley Amis's wittier version of the Angry Young Man in Lucky Jim. The Tony Richardson film of Look Back is worth seeing though; Richard Burton is great in that.

Ah good to know about the chronology of Teed himse...

2012-05-18T17:50:34.929-04:00

Ah good to know about the chronology of Teed himself. He's an interesting character. You can kind of feel a real person banging around inside the confines of genre conventions and the author's desire to get published and make some money.

I'll go check out your review.

My thanks for the nice piece and the comments conc...

2012-05-18T15:11:54.545-04:00

My thanks for the nice piece and the comments concerning the endeavour. It's very much a labour of love. I think you'll be pleased to learn that the third and final Teed mystery, The Body on Mount Royal, will be out any day now.

One small correction, if I may: The Crime on Cote des Neiges was the first Ricochet Book (but only just). It's also the first Teed adventure. In fact, if you go through Murder Over Dorval with a very fine-toothed comb, you'll collect a few flecks in which the previous case is mentioned.

An aside, if you're interested, I wrote a review Murder Over Dorval just a couple of weeks ago. You'll find it here.

Glad to remind you! :) I feel like they take a d...

2012-05-18T11:55:01.325-04:00

Glad to remind you! :)

I feel like they take a drop in quality and tone with the later books. The first one especially was quite jarring to me. Felt like Westlake wasn't sure if he was doing Parker or Dortmunder. But they do get better and by the last two it's classic Parker again. But for me, Butcher's Moon is a masterpiece and you can stop there quite happily.

Thanks for the comment!

Read this a few years ago, and the review has just...

2012-05-18T02:49:19.403-04:00

Read this a few years ago, and the review has just reminded me how enjoyable all the Parkers are, well at least up as far as I've got - Butcher's Moon.
The ones I haven't read yet are those he wrote after his 20-year hiatus.

I just finished the book. In the book, Paul Benjam...

2012-05-11T01:52:06.710-04:00

I just finished the book. In the book, Paul Benjamin seemed to be spiraling downwards into near insanity. But unlike Taxi Driver in which the result of Travis Bickle's breakdown was due to working and living in vice and corruption, Paul had one more factor in play. His dear family was attacked. (Spoiler, but safe to to say everyone here knows the book and movie) His wife died and his daughter became catatonic. He wanted payback. Plain and simple. But is it the answer?

Thanks for the comment, Kate! Man, talk about a t...

2012-05-07T22:41:12.396-04:00

Thanks for the comment, Kate!

Man, talk about a total Hollywood cop-out! So typical. But I guess that's expecting a lot for the mid-50s. I wonder if the movie is any good. Could be interesting. I go to follow your link now.

Oh, I see reading the plot summary that they turne...

2012-05-07T22:28:45.597-04:00

Oh, I see reading the plot summary that they turned the man into a woman, so he's got to choose between a New York society woman and his Mexican girlfriend.

I wonder how the gay theme was handled in the
2012-05-07T22:26:30.516-04:00
I wonder how the gay theme was handled in the 1956 film with Mario Lanza.

That makes perfect sense that they would have orig...

2012-05-05T15:24:00.071-04:00

That makes perfect sense that they would have originally released the book with such a cover. How else could a Canadian publisher justify publishing such prurient material unless it was for academic or sociological reasons!

That Anne rice quote is really bizarre, as well as the book they chose to credit her with. Was this before Interview with a Vampire? Or is it a different Anne Rice?

I once owned the Somerville House first edition, a...

2012-05-05T15:15:53.493-04:00

I once owned the Somerville House first edition, a book blessed with a cover that looked for all the world like an ugly psych textbook. It's for that reason, I suppose, that I never got around to actually cracking it open. If memory serves, I bought it because of a cover blurb. Whose? Don't know... but I can say that it wasn't Anne Rice.

Books From America!

2012-04-24T21:55:36.082-04:00

Books From America!

I think you'll really enjoy these. The stories...

2012-04-24T12:53:25.412-04:00

I think you'll really enjoy these. The stories are great, but there is so much history in them as well.

I look forward to your posts, especially the one on Conquest, as I'm sure you'll dig up some great background info.

Nice review, sir. And I'm pleased the antholog...

2012-04-24T05:23:34.054-04:00

Nice review, sir. And I'm pleased the anthology is worth reading, because I picked up an edition of it last year, which I'll be blogging about down the line. Robert Conquest, by the way, also co-wrote a novel with Kingsley Amis... and I'll be blogging about that too!

Thanks for the comment! I really am curious if it...

2012-04-19T15:46:18.944-04:00

Thanks for the comment! I really am curious if it will have the same power in today's overstimulating environment. I've got a nephew who is still a bit young, but I'm definitely going to give this to him when he hits the right age.

Yes, I love Ripley's Game. There are a couple...

2012-04-19T15:45:00.120-04:00

Yes, I love Ripley's Game. There are a couple moments of sheer insanity in that book that really put you into Ripley's mind that are quite a bit of joyous reading.

I like your trilogy concept.

Great comment, Craig. I really appreciate the inf...

2012-04-19T13:29:16.446-04:00

Great comment, Craig. I really appreciate the info (though sad that you have shattered my dreams of a Westlake/Highsmith connection). I'll watch that "Annabel" at some point for sure.

I don't really have a favourite Highsmith yet. It's because I don't really have any kind of structure in my mind as to the order of her books, beyond the division of her Ripley books and all the rest. One of these days I'll sit down and pay attention to their chronology and themes.

I have yet to read The Tremor of Forgery, but I will bear your comments in mind when I do.

Interesting perspective, Craig D. Interesting als...

2012-04-19T13:26:41.000-04:00

Interesting perspective, Craig D. Interesting also to know that Garfield himself liked it. I'll be checking it out at some point for sure.

@Louis, yes do read it, I think you will enjoy it. I'm envious of your copy!

I am 50 years old and read this book in 6th grade....

2012-04-18T17:51:13.014-04:00

I am 50 years old and read this book in 6th grade. It made such an impression on me that I have never forgotten it, or the imagery it created in my mind.

I actually liked the Death Sentence film, and base...

2012-04-18T02:22:24.684-04:00

I actually liked the Death Sentence film, and based on interviews with Garfield that I've read, so did he. It's got a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so he and I are in the minority. I haven't read the book, but from what I understand, the film has a totally different plot, being more of a remake of Death Wish than an adaptation of Death Sentence. But unlike the Death Wish films, it kept Garfield's anti-vigilante message intact, which is part of why he liked it. It's no masterpiece, but it's quite underrated and worth a watch.

This Sweet Sickness is the only Highsmith on my sh...

2012-04-17T15:53:20.942-04:00

This Sweet Sickness is the only Highsmith on my shelf that hasn't been read yet. It'll be my next, but I'm apprehensive about it. I've found that my opinion is usually at odds with the majority when it comes to any author's best novels, and Highsmith is no different. Critics routinely dismiss the Ripley sequels and claim that The Tremor of Forgery is either her best or one of her best, but I find Ripley's Game to be her best and The Tremor of Forgery is my least favorite of the ones I've read. This Sweet Sickness is commonly called one of her best, so you can see why I'm keeping my expectations low. Your review puts me even more on guard.

As for a possible Highsmith/Stark connection, I doubt it. Highsmith claimed that she didn't read many of her contemporaries, or much crime fiction at all. She was a huge fan of Dostoyevsky, but of all the writers who I know she read and admired, the closest to a contemporary crime author was Camus. (Not really a crime writer at all, although there are shades of The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Tremor of Forgery in The Stranger.) I know that Graham Greene was a friend of hers and he was quite fond of her fiction, but I don't know if she even read his at all.

By the way, although I haven't read Sickness yet, there was a fine adaptation done for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, aka Alfred Hitchcock Presents, under the title "Annabel." It's mostly just decent, but Dean Stockwell is pretty terrific as Kelsey. It can be found on YouTube if you're interested.

The last two books are very good, but they don'...

2012-04-17T15:37:47.638-04:00

The last two books are very good, but they don't quite measure up to the first three. I sort of consider the series a strong trilogy with a couple of fun epilogues. I always warn people against starting with either of the last two, since they don't exactly represent what's so good about Highsmith's best. And, like you said, Under Water is so reliant upon continuity. If you haven't read the first three, they come highly recommended. Ripley's Game in particular, which I consider Highsmith's best novel.

Olman's Fifty

glad to hear you finally got around to finishing t...

Amis didn't consider himself an Angry Young Ma...

Ah good to know! I really should take the time to...

It's not your modern perspective, Olman; Jimmy...

Ah good to know about the chronology of Teed himse...

My thanks for the nice piece and the comments conc...

Glad to remind you! :) I feel like they take a d...

Read this a few years ago, and the review has just...

I just finished the book. In the book, Paul Benjam...

Thanks for the comment, Kate! Man, talk about a t...

Oh, I see reading the plot summary that they turne...

I wonder how the gay theme was handled in the 2012-05-07T22:26:30.516-04:00 I wonder how the gay theme was handled in the 1956 film with Mario Lanza.

That makes perfect sense that they would have orig...

I once owned the Somerville House first edition, a...

Books From America!

I think you'll really enjoy these. The stories...

Nice review, sir. And I'm pleased the antholog...

Thanks for the comment! I really am curious if it...

Yes, I love Ripley's Game. There are a couple...

Great comment, Craig. I really appreciate the inf...

Interesting perspective, Craig D. Interesting als...

I am 50 years old and read this book in 6th grade....

I actually liked the Death Sentence film, and base...

This Sweet Sickness is the only Highsmith on my sh...

The last two books are very good, but they don'...

I wonder how the gay theme was handled in the
2012-05-07T22:26:30.516-04:00
I wonder how the gay theme was handled in the 1956 film with Mario Lanza.