The three books I read by Robert B. Parker were double play (2004), shrink wrap (2002) and gloomy baby (2004). Based on this, I was wondering how the author became as popular as he is. When talking about a character, he would describe what he was wearing. That and a lot of dialogue, which consumed many pages, was the meat of the books. With no physical descriptions, no sense of setting, and no real character development, I got the impression that Parker saw writing him for what it was, a job.
but then i read The Godwulf Manuscript (1973), the first of forty books in Spenser’s private detective series. Yes, he described the characters by the clothes they wore, but it also gives you a sense of Boston in the 1970s. Also, you feel more connected to his characters than in his later works.
Parker (1932-1910) is a transitional writer, the first generation beyond the pulp fiction created by magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. His characters are more sensitive, more literary, and less macho. Thus, Spenser is a mixture of the callous, hard-drinking “cock” and the observer of humanity who reads between the lines. This was the model for the modern fictional detective.
For those of you who don’t know, pulp fiction was popular because it was a cheap way to reach the literate masses. Before World War II and television, you could find all the escapism you wanted through short stories in a dime magazine. Many of the early writers, like Dashiell Hammett and Ray Bradbury, made two hundred a word writing for these magazines. The stories included all types, from detective fiction to fantasy and science fiction to horror. From these genres we get the beginnings of most modern classifications of fiction.
To be fair, the Parker books I read were at the end of their careers. The Godwulf Manuscript looks cooler by comparison. I can see where Robert Crais gets his wisecracking Elvis Cole and how Harlan Coben divides Spenser’s personality into the softer Mryon Bolitar and the tougher Winn. John Dunning’s Cliff Janeway is another example, where a tough cop becomes a bookstore owner and collector. Though Parker’s writing may seem old-fashioned (footwork vs. today’s high-tech problem solving), it’s fast-paced, and Spenser’s literary quotes and his trigger dialogue are amusing.
Therefore, I will probably read more of Parker’s books. I still want to try the Jesse Stone series. For those who are nostalgic for the baby boomer generation, it’s fun to go back in time and remember what life was like before computers and cell phones. For those who consider themselves connoisseurs of the mystery, it’s only fair to read a man who contributed so much to the genre.