I noticed that most of the books on the summer bestseller list are romances. I didn't take them seriously when Janice Radway told us we should in 1984, and I don't take them seriously now even though they have their own academic journal. Occasionally I read one just to see if they're still mindless pap. They are.
Yet, it would be churlish to tell anyone they should read serious literature instead. I'm happy when someone actually reads a book of any sort in the age of Dumbing Down America. Plus, I love mysteries and detective novels that a lot of literary snobs would call pap. They might be right, but I’d much rather read Tana French or Louise Penny than James Joyce or Jane Austen.
Plus, it's beach time and who wants to get sand in their first edition of Dickens? Read a romance if that's your thing. If not, perhaps you'd like to try some of Robert Parker’s Spenser series. Where to start if you’re a newbie? Parker penned 39 of them before his death in 2010. If you’re not a completist you might be tempted to read whatever comes your way. That's not the best strategy because the characters evolve and you’ll be dazed and confused.
It makes more sense to sample Parker by decades to get a handle on things. Confession: I'm not overly fond of his novels from the 1970s. The ‘70s were a tacky decade to live through–doubt knit, wide ties and trousers, bad hair, stack-heeled shoes, gas guzzlers, stagflation, and disco–so why relive it? The best reason is to learn about key players who appear in better novels from the 1980s on.
The Spenser novels are like Star Trek: character-driven. Plotting was never Parker’s forte, which is why he could crank ‘em out. Many of the stories are formulaic and involve improbable resolutions, but the fun comes from seeing how the characters grow, laughing at the wisecracks, and marveling over how such a macho guy is remarkably sensitive about race and gender. He’s stuck on himself, as prone to violence as you’d expect an ex-boxer to be, and eats and drinks like a starved hog, but he’s also surprisingly erudite and settles into being a one-woman guy. Once you learn about his inner circle–Susan Silverman, his lover; Hawk, his African American friend who marches to his own drummer; and law enforcement allies Healy, Belson, and Quirk, it scarcely matters if you lose a Parker on the beach; you can just grab
another book.
For the 1970s, I suggest starting with God Save the Child (1974), the book in which he meets Susan. She’s a high school guidance counselor in this one, though she’ll soon climb up the psychology ladder. She’s also a semi-liberated woman, but that too will change. Hawk is present, though he’s not yet Spenser’s partner in crime. That’s the correct term. As a private investigator Spenser gets results because he bends, breaks, and ignores rules. (Hawk never bothered with them in the first place.)
The plot centers on the dysfunctional Bartlett family: Roger, a rough-around-the-edges construction contractor; Margery, a bored housewife who fancies herself a “creative person;” and their identity-confused son Kevin. The latter goes missing and Spenser has to sort through everything from an obnoxious local cop, serving as the insufferable Margery’s bodyguard, being threatened by a body builder, visiting a gay bar, psychobabble, a possible kidnapping, extortion, and a dead lawyer. Read it for background, but for heaven’s sake don’t stop there as far better novels lie ahead. If you want more from the 1970s, Mortal Stakes (1975) is pretty decent and involves the Red Sox. If you missed, the link will take you to an earlier review.
Once you’re grounded, jump to Ceremony (1982). By then, Spenser and Susan are joined at the pelvis and Hawk is integral to the series. You’ll meet April Kyle who appears in two future novels. Her father wants Spenser to find her, as he’s furious that she’s working as a prostitute. You will learn that Spenser seldom sees himself as a save-the-world social worker. He will cut deals with organized crime figures as long as they keep their word and reckons it’s nobody’s business if a person’s chosen life offends moralists or busybodies.
As it transpires, April might indeed be in jeopardy. Ceremony takes us inside a very seedy world of non-consensual pornography and dangers on the street. It takes place in various Massachusetts locales, Boston’s Combat Zone, Rhode Island, and New York City. In the latter you will meet Patricia Utley, the madam of a high-class stable of prostitutes. She’s another person who reappears later. Ceremony has real grit to it to go with the wisecracks. Plus, who can resist the prescience of having a street pimp who calls himself “Trumps?”
Those three will get you started and I’ll post a few more suggestions in future columns.
Rob Weir
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