Book Review: Get Real: Donald E. Westlake: Books
Book Review: Get Real: Donald E. Westlake: Books
Dortmunder’s Final Caper?,
By RCP “Bob” (Texas) -
First of all, RIP Donald E. Westlake. We will miss you and all your alter egos.
Now I must admit I just got this book yesterday and have only read the first page. But that first page is such a masterful description of John Dortmunder it deserves a review of its own. I will come back and update this review after I have read the whole book.
As I said, the description of Dortmunder is masterful. I will quote just a bit of it here:
“He looked liked a person loitering with intent. The particular intent, as any cop casting an eye over Dortmunder would immediately understand, was beside the point, and could be fine-tuned at the station.”
OK — back to the book, which, based on the first page alone, I expect to be a wonderful, if sad, farewell to John Dortmunder and the gang at the OJ Bar and Grill.
———————-
Now that I have read the book, here is a FULL REVIEW:
In case you don’t know, John Dortmunder is a thief. And he is an expert thief. That’s his job and he is good at it. He is the leader of an informal little gang. He comes up with clever schemes. He thinks on his feet and extracts himself and his friends from difficult situations. Unfortunately Lady Luck seems to have it in for John. No matter how clever his scheme, now matter how expertly implemented, things go wrong in, shall we say, “interesting” ways. Things have a way of working themselves out in the end but John and his friends never hit the big one despite coming *so* close so many times.
It’s no wonder poor John has such such a pessimistic view of his chances. But being the professional that he is, he never gives up. Well, at least not with a little prodding from his friends. OK, maybe lots of prodding.
John Dortmunder first came to light in the novel _The Hot Rock_ in 1970. That’s 39 years of mis-adventures for us to enjoy. If you haven’t read any of the Dortmunder books that would be a good place to start. The books do stand alone and need not be read in order, but I think reading a few early ones first may help you develop a feel for the characters.
In those 39 years Dortmunder has not aged nor changed in any way. The world around him did go through 39 years of change — Dortmunder would never call it progress — and through it all Dortmunder remained as solid as a rock. His friends have mostly kept up with the times (but also remain ageless). They have cell phones and use Google to do research. But not our John. He had a wall phone in his kitchen in 1970 and it’s still his only phone in 2009. Even an answering machine is too much of a modern gadget for him to let it intrude into his world.
Donald Westlake had a way of telling Dortmunder’s stories that has been imitated but never equaled. Clever plots, clever dialog and wonderful characters. The premis of this tale is “reality television”. A TV producer has the idea of following along with Dortminder’s gang and filming them as they plan and execute a “heist”, with various difficulties thrown their way to keep it interesting. How can Dortmunder take advantage of that to make a few bucks above the promised salary without getting busted? Well, read the book to find out!
So, goodbye John Dortmunder. I have faith that this is NOT your final caper and that you are still prowling the streets of New York with your crew even if we can’t read about it anymore. And here’s a wish that Lady Luck smiles on you for once, or, maybe even better, turns a blind eye.
SIX stars, if you include the one “up there”,
By S. Berner (Boca Raton, Fl USA) -
There is a story, possibly apochcryphal, that, when George Gershwin died one of his friends said: “I can’t see how we can go on with no more Gershwin.” To which another replied: “Worse yet, no more Gershwin songs!” This is how I, and I would guess, all of us, feel. As bad as it is not having Donald Westlake around, it is even worse to know we won’t get any more Westlake novels. But if we MUST accept that, at least we’l have the comfort of knowing he went out on a high note. “Get Real” is laugh out loud funny from page 1. It is SO funny that it ALMOST keeps us from tears at our loss. Have fun up there, Mr Westlake. I can’t wait for Dortmunder’s caper stealing the Pearly Gates.
Westlake’s last stand,
By Steven W. Slesinger “steve sles” (Melbourne,, FL United States) -
Fans of Westlake can’t believe he’s gone. I just finished reading
“Get Real” and it had me chuckling throughout. Westlake is the wittiest writer around — the irony couldn’t get any better. The gang goes out in style. Read it, you won’t be disappointed.
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