A Catskill Eagle

I just finished Robert B. Parker's "A Catskill Eagle" for the fifth time in as many years. I didn't intend for it to become a yearly ritual, but it has done that and I'm happy for it.Eagle is the book that makes Spenser epic, that cements the bond between Spenser and Hawk among the great literary friendships. It is Parker's way of enforcing the comparisons between his own Spenser and the unstoppable, nameless knight of Edmund Spenser's "Faerie Queen". It is more than a knight's tale, more than a picaresque, more than a detective novel. To rescue Susan from her other lover, a rich, cruel and brutal man, Spenser and Hawk cut a swath of destruction across America. In order to secure the distressed damsel, they commit murder and arson and eventually sign on for an assassination. As an example of the depths of love and fealty, this book ranks up there with The Sun Also Rises. As an action-adventure it is perfect. As a hilarious buddy comedy it belongs in the same cabinet as any Hope/Crosby road film.If there is a weak spot in this novel, it is in Russell Costigan himself, Susan's lover. In his desire to make Russell the very opposite of Spenser, he makes him dislikable, crude, a whiny, insecure neanderthal undeserving of Susan's love or attention. It makes her decision bewildering and unbelievable, despite Parker's attempts to explain.But this book isn't about Russell. It's not even about Susan. It is about the quest. It is about the things around us that define who we are and how we respond when we are needed. And in that, it succeeds far beyond almost anything else you will read in this genre.

This is Robert B. Parker's best Spenser novel and best novel to date. Besides updating the hardboiled/film-noir/detective novel genre for the new age, it has always been clear to me that Parker, an English Professor who has taught at Tufts and Harvard, is also exploring the concepts of the Hero and the Heroic in our decidely un-heroic, if not anti-heroic, age. He does so masterfully here.The book soars on many levels. Lovers of literature will not be disappointed with many obscure allusions--not the least of which being the title of the book. Action fans will find plenty of violence. Lovers of pithy prose and repartee will also not be disappointed.Parker accomplishes the almost impossible: an exciting novel that manages to be literature at the same time. No mean feat, but he's been doing in for 30 years. If some of the later novels fall somewhat flat, e.g. Small Vices, Hush Money, Pale Kings and Princes, this book repays endless rereadings. And, since discovering it in 1987, I've read it at least a dozen times. It repays each new reading. Truly a book for a life time.

Having read all of Parker's Spenser novels -- and all but the first are very good or better -- this one is the best. It integrates all the familiar Spenser characters from earlier novels, even Rachel Wallace, sheds further light on the relationship with Hawk, and, most especially, on that with Susan Silverman, which is the subject of the esoteric title. It shows Spencer sensitive and suffering over the woman he loves, seems satisfying psychologically to me, although I'm not sure Susan would act quite as she did. But that's a quibble. This is Parker at his best, Spenser at his height, and a good, rip-roaring, cross-country adventure story to boot. I like God Save the Child and Mortal Stakes and Early Autumn and Small Vices very much. But if I had to take one Spenser book with me on a long, boring journey, this would be it.

This book takes a look at what friendship and loyality are first with his going too all odds to help his friend Hawk. Then helping Susan out of her situation even though he knows she may not choose to be with him. Even though he has crossed certain lines he still keeps his intergrety.

I am an unabashed Parker/Spenser fan. I've read, no devoured, each and every Spenser novel. With that, I recommend A Catskill Eagle to you with my highest rating. It is action packed and scenery is always changing. It goes beyond the lives and backgrounds of Hawk, Spenser, and Susan to reveal the character of each. Robert Parker will really have work to ever beat this, but all Spenser fans are hoping, he'll put aside those other distractions and try. Mark Felderman, Emmetsburg, Iowa