"Stranger in Paradise" Redux

by Robert B. Parker

Redux= "Of a topic, redone, restored, brought back, or revisited"

Jean went to the library yesterday and came home with two Parker books, hoping that I had not read them. I had....
However, I picked up "Stranger in Paradise" and glanced at it to refresh my memory and before I knew it I had reread the whole book... before bedtime.
So, this is not so much a review of the book than my reaction to the second reading.

For those of you who do not know the works of Robert B. Parker, you should. There are a lot of them and he has the ability to write a book that is readable. We have all encountered the books in which there are far too many plots going at the same time and thus end up almost vanishing up their own backside. Parker's books have a certain clarity to them and I seldom have to ask myself a question on the order of, "Who the hell is this character? Have I met them already?"

Most of Parker's books centre on Spenser who is a P.I. and they feature heavily a man named Hawk.
"Stranger in Paradise" is one of the Jesse Stone series of books. Stone is the chief of police in the town of Paradise, Mass. In this book Parker introduces a character called "Crow" who performs many of the functions of Hawk: physical strength, self-sufficiency, loyalty, a strong sense of honour and humour.
Crow's importance to this novel is underscored by the picture of a crow on the cover.
One of my observations in rereading the book was that I found my self caring less about the plot than the Stone/Crow relationship... and I recalled that I felt the same way about the Spenser/Hawk relationship.

I won't bore you with a whole string of examples, but in this reading I was far more aware that Parker writes well. One line that really impressed me was:
“The day was eighty-five and clear. The tide was in. The ocean covered most of the beach, and the waves rolled in quietly, without animosity.”
Very simple, very clear and with a delightfully fresh observation at the end.

Parker's recent death left those of us who have read almost all of his stuff feeling bereft.
I found it encouraging to discover that I could return to this book and enjoy gobbling it down in one evening...

Reviewed by David Nale

"Resolution"

by Robert B. Parker

Hitch and Cole together again.

After the bloody confrontation in Appaloosa, Everett Hitch heads into the afternoon sun and ends up in Resolution, an Old West town so new the dust has yet to settle. It's the kind of town that doesn't have much in the way of commerce, except for a handful of saloons and some houses of ill repute. Hitch takes a job as lookout at Amos Wolfson's Blackfoot Saloon and quickly establishes his position as protector of the ladies who work the backrooms--as well as a man unafraid to stand up to the enforcer sent down from the O'Malley copper mine.

Though Hitch makes short work of hired gun Koy Wickman, tensions continue to mount, so that even the self-assured Hitch is relieved by the arrival in town of his friend Virgil Cole. When greedy mine owner Eamon O'Malley threatens the loose coalition of local ranchers and starts buying up Resolution's few businesses, Hitch and Cole find themselves in the middle of a makeshift war between O'Malley's men and the ranchers. In a place where law and order don't exist, Hitch and Cole must make their own, guided by their sense of duty, honor, and friendship. A bit of a cheesy plot but Parker makes it work by keeping Hitch and Cole human; warts and all.

Personally, I don't care much for Westerns but this one is done by exploring the implications of a world without law, a world with shifting rules and shifting borders, a world defined by the men and women who find themselves there and must somehow create a livable civilization (or hell) by themselves. That is the vibrato of Resolution and Parker plays the tune well.

Parker seems to be at his best when he is stretched and his occasional forays into this genre stretch him. The result is a tight albeit shallow plot, engaging characters, and the opportunity to reflect, very economically, on the nature of man and the nature of law. The dialogue is terse, as is the tone and the texture. Bottom line: Quick read that is interesting but only for fun on a lazy afternoon. A person doesn't have to be a Rhodes Scholar to browse through this one.

Reviewed by Nan Sevic

"Perchance to Dream"

by Robert B. Parker

I think most of us have read all of the light mysteries by Robert Parker. Well, at least I have, if only the ones in our local libraries – the Spenser novels, the Jesse Stone books, and the ones featuring the lady detective (her name escapes me right now – it’s not that she’s not memorable, it’s that my recall faculties are going the way of other functions).

I was browsing the stacks for a new supply of leisure reading the other day, and briefly scanned the Parker section to see if there was any possibility I had missed any. Truth be told, the snappy dialogue between Hawk and Spenser grows a bit tiresome for me, but who knows what treasures lurk in the nether reaches. Sure enough, down on the bottom shelf was a dog-eared volume with a film noir cover illustration.

Copyrighted in 1991, “Perchance to Dream”, was touted as a sequel to Chandler’s “Big Sleep”; the concept was so intriguing I couldn’t let it go by.

I’m glad I didn’t!

Parker manages to merge Chandler’s style with his own almost seamlessly. He even inserts italicized segments of Raymond’s original text to provide continuity. Here we have the further adventures of those vivid characters Eddie Mars, Vivian, her crazy sister Carmen, and, of course, Philip Marlowe. Parker’s Marlowe is as wise-assy as Spenser, but with the patois of the 1940’s when a gun was a “rod”, and being “wired” meant being connected with the power wielders.

A fun read if you haven’t enjoyed it before. Parker’s craftsmanship really shows in this old one.

Reviewed by Ken West