Easy Rawlins (Ezekiel to you) is just a guy in LA trying to make a better life for himself in Watts during the 1950s. He “came across” $10,000 in the first book and invested it in a few rental properties. He’s making a decent living. That cain’t last though.
In smack-dab in the middle of this nine volume set and wondering where things are going to go. I’m also wondering who says “smack-dab” any more, and whether it should be hyphenated or not. Wouldn’t you know it, it was the middle of this book that provided the pivot point for this epic story, almost structurally in the middle.
I really want to go to New Orleans. I’ve been through it a few times, but haven’t really explored things. James Lee Burke, through the observations of his main character Dave Robicheaux, paints a picture of New Orleans that is at times unflattering, but ultimately makes it appear to be a great place to visit.
I can’t get enough of Bernard Samson, Len Deighton’s beautifully constructed British spy person, so I’m embarking on the second trilogy (of three). I have a backlog of reading and I haven’t been doing much lately. Call it a reading slump. I was hoping this would shake some of the reading cobwebs free.
I got about one third through this book and had to get plot assistance. This is happening with an uncomfortable frequency lately. Author John le Carre knocked me for a wallop here and I blame myself.
This is book five of the whole Game of Thrones thing (actually, I should say “the Song of Ice and Fire” thing, for the purists). I had to keep reminding myself that this book has the same time frame as book four. The space-time continuum was hard to keep track of at times because the same stories from book four are viewed through the eyes of the other half of the characters.
If you like Cold War British spy thrillers with some romance and character study mixed in, Deighton could be your most reliable option. He doesn’t publish any more, but you should seek him out. I’m always trolling used book stores for his stuff.
This is a western novel, timeframe 1851. Narrator Eli Sisters and his big brother Charlie are hired killers for a guy named the Commodore. The Commodore kind of pisses off Eli a little because he assigns Charlie as the leader of their two man assassination team. Charlie is kind of an ass, but Eli loves him. Eli has a horse named Tub, which he’s not to fond of, but he accepts the beast willingly. Early in the book Eli had to have two teeth pulled and now he brushes his teeth every day. His life isn’t bad, but it’s certainly not that great.
Gail has been telling me great things about this Jeffrey Archer book for years. She read it as a kid. When iBooks first came out they had it on sale for $2.99, so I bought it. This was like a year ago and I finally got around to reading it. In fact, I think this is the first book I’ve read on the iPhone, even on the Kindle app for iPhone. It was quite exciting and I enjoyed the experience immensely.
Thanks to authors like Ross MacDonald, I think I’ll always read American detective novels. It’s just what I do. MacDonald’s character Lew Archer is quickly becoming one of my favorite fictional characters because of his keen observations, sense of humor, and taste in alcohol.
Archer seems to spend a lot of time in bars looking for information and MacDonald loves to add a little color by describing the place and the inhabitants (pg 76):
The place was built on two levels, so that the bar commanded a view of the dining-room. It was nearly two o’clock. The bar was doing a rush-hour business before the curfew knelled. I found an empty stool, ordered a Guinness stout for energy, and looked around me.
I love Guinness. MacDonald followed this with the introduction to some of the key characters. I didn’t recognize how important this character survey was at the time, but I learned my lesson.
Archer’s humor tends to the wry side. Here’s him recounting a trip to an opulent mansion looking for a black limousine (pg 99):
I climbed into my car, closing the door very gently so as not to start an avalanche of money. The loop in the drive took me past the garages. They contained an Austin, a jeep, and a white roadster, but no black limousine.
Hah, “an avalanche of money,” that’s funny stuff. I cracked a smile.
Or what about when he snuck up on a guy from a clump of trees (pg 109).
Reavis glanced at me, the color mounting floridly in his face. “Archer?”
I said: “The name is Leatherstocking.”
I’m rolling on the floor at this point. Not only does MacDonald toss in humor, but he pays tribute to one of America’s greatest writers. It’s really inventive.
The villains aren’t funny though.
** PLOT KILLERS FOLLOW **
This book contained a somewhat out-of-place scene with an evil doctor who uses high pressure water torture on his subjects (plenty of “drowning pool” references). Sue Grafton was highly influenced by MacDonald but I don’t think she’s ever created a villain so bizarre. If memory serves, neither has Burke or Hillerman, two of my other favorite authors. I’ll start paying more attention. Archer ends up escaping from this water torture chamber by filling it up until the door bursts open from the pressure. Then he gets washed out and kills the doctor. It was kind of James Bond-like. Interesting tactic by MacDonald. I’m okay with it.
This is book two with Archer and I’m ready to stay with it for the whole series. Both books were made into movies with Paul Newman, although they changed Archer’s name to Harper. I need to check those out. I’m reading almost all serialized fiction right now. I’m starting the Easy Rawlins series and have a Smiley and Samson novel queued up. Then there’s Game of Thrones book four and probably another Robicheaux adventure. I just don’t feel like branching out. I’m busy at work and throwing in some occasional non-fiction, so I’m not going to be adventurous with my fiction.
