Little Storping-in-the-Swuff: Literature

Like his, my intimate relationships are abiding, loyal, deep and passionate. Like him, I think that what one does, one should do well. If we like eating we should eat well, we should cultivate our senses, we should dress well and learn what suits us, we should play at things that matter and not be idle or trivial. We should travel and know something of the world, we should learn another language. We should view all things, except romantic love, skeptically. We should puncture piety, challenge orthodoxy, we should be secular. We should be cultured without being effete, erudite without being pompous, smart without being glib. We should follow our own law consistently. People we love should know that we won’t let them down. We should be funny.

From Eulogy for Robert B. Parker by his son, David

Again, thanks to archel for the link.

One of my favourite authors died last month.  I didn’t hear about it at the time, partly because he is strangely unknown over here, partly because I was moving and partly because my Dad withheld the news from me.  It took two weeks for this obit in the Indy to appear (by which time Dad had finally remembered to mention it); thanks to archel for the link.

Sad to think I will only have the pleasure of reading a brand new Spenser book three more times.

Robert B. Parker is still one of my favourite authors, although his earlier books are the ones I enjoy the most: the twelve novels that introduce Spenser and chart his relationship with Susan Silverman from The Godwulf Manuscript (1973) to A Catskill Eagle (1985) are sublime.  Whilst the character of Spenser, like the novels, has lost some of his edge in recent years, Parker’s books are hugely more entertaining than almost all the contemporary crime writers I’ve sampled. 

Now I’ve just spotted on Amazon Chasing the Bear: A Young Spenser Novel. When I’m rereading an early Spenser, it rarely bothers me that I now know how (like the writing) he softens in the later books. But filling out his youth (the details of which Parker has retconned already) is something that is best left to the reader.  I’ve never wanted to read Young Bond or Young Holmes books, but at least they aren’t by the original creator.  And can you imagine wanting to read what Philip Marlowe got up to at school? Like Spenser, his character may have juvenile traits, but for us to believe in him he has to live entirely in the adult world.

Spenser is an almost entirely self-made person; he’s often stated how much better being an adult is than being a kid.  He wouldn’t want to go back.  Nor do I.  I wonder why Parker does?