Author Robert B. Parker, the dean of American detective fiction, has died at age 77. Parker wrote many books, but his most popular creation was Spenser, a wise cracking Boston private detective. He also wrote a series of Westerns, novels about police chief Jesse Stone and female private eye Sunny Randall, as well as a novel depicting a fictional bodyguard working to protect Jackie Robinson in 1947.
I've read Parker for a long, long time-25 years at least. I have read nearly all of his books-all of the Spenser books, save that I haven't read the most recent, plus there are two more coming, according to the publisher. For me, he is one of the few who completely captures a male voice and a male perspective. As tough as Spenser has to be, he has genuine regrets and insecurities, and Parker writes like a dream-lean, tough, beautiful prose, with just enough detail. I have written papers on Parker in both high school and college, and I feel like I have internalized parts of Spenser like few fictional characters I have ever encountered.
Parker's departure, though certainly no surprise at age 77, leaves a void in my mental life. His voice will be missed.
Guess I'd better look for these books.
ReplyDeleteHe's special. As long as you like mysteries, and a rather sparse prose style(a la Cormac McCarthy or Hemingway) , you'll love him.
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