This was an audio book and rather than a single reader it has a large cast, man well- known actors. Ed Asner did most of the work and was very good at it. This was a typical MacDonald plot: wealthy people who had a lost daughter, wife, or something of value. Things I noticed: MacDonald sticks to the story. Archer follows the trail, step by step. We learn nothing about him at all. I prefer a story (like what they are doing with Perry Mason on HBO or with Harry Bosch) where we learn more about our gumshoe, at least within reason.
MacDonald also finds it hard not to comment on female anatomies, which I think the library police might get rid of now. It's harmless, but it happens often enough to be noticeable. The dialog is great. Each character has their own distinctive voice. Maybe it helps that actors are reciting the lines, but it works. The mystery is good enough with several twists. Would I reread another Lew Archer? Not right away but probably. I read THE CHILL a few years back.
Have you read a Lew Archer lately? I can't remember if back in the day we had a Ross MacDonald day. I will have to check. Of course, at the time, we have many more contributors. Looking at a list from a decade ago it is sad how many have died or drifted away.
8 comments:
I think the last one I read was THE CHILL, or one or another of the short story collections. I remember none of the details of ZEBRA, as I do the first one I read, THE BLUE HAMMER, though only so many after a quarter-century or so (and that I read a chunk of it while too tired to go into a punk rock concert with Donna, but did driver her there and back and read the last Archer by streetlight; she was pretty happy about the show, I forget who was there at the old 9:30 that night). Asner would have a good voice for Archer.
I've been trying to get back into the habit of listing FFBs again, but by the end of my doing them regularly, they would take about 8-10 hours. As I have a new cat to sit with, if I set up a proper office in her quarantine room (probably to be released from same if we get the parasite test results on Saturday as promised), that might be a good confluence of opportunity...
I've not read as many of his short stories as of his novels, Patti. But I know he was skilled at short stories, too. Thanks for the reminder.
Read them all. Enjoyed them all. My favorite? Whichever one I happened to be holding in my hot little hands.
Well, that was great. I typed up a whole comment and somehow deleted it before posting. All my fault, this time.
I was saying if you do a Macdonald Day, I'm in. I read most of them in the '70s too, but I have three unread Archers on the shelf, as well as one non-series book of his. Favorites include THE CHILL and THE FAR SIDE OF THE DOLLAR (which I also have).
The last of his books I read were the short story collections. It has been a while since I read one of the Archers.
Well, let's do one. We might be smaller in numbers but we can do five perhaps. Maybe mid-May to give us a chance to find some.
We did one in November 2013! Not that we couldn't do one again. Or another author perhaps.
I remember that November 8, 2013 event. I reviewed THE FAR SIDE OF THE DOLLAR. Sure, let's do another Ross Macdonald Day. The Library of America got on the Ross Macdonald bandwagon with three volumes of Macdonald's work. I agree with Jeff about THE CHILL and THE FAR SIDE OF THE DOLLAR being Ross Macdonald's best work, but all of his novels are worth reading.
I have read all of the MacDonald books multiple times starting back in the 60's. Every once in awhile I will pull one out when I can't decide on what to read next.
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