Flynn's World

While I understand where some others believe this to be a wee pedantic, I believe this comprises only a small part of the book. On the whole the book is highly believable, the skewering of intellectualized misbehavior spot-on, and the humanizing of and, one might say, redemption of "Grover" is worth the price tag alone. Unless you are fond of dry police procedurals, you have to take some of these fictional detectives with a grain of salt to enjoy them -- sure, Flynn's world is idealized, else he wouldn't be Flynn! I find this book to be the perhaps the most enjoyable of all the Mcdonald books I've read so far, and highly recommend it. You've got to read it, if you're a fan of Flynn.

Those of us who live in the academic world may be discomforted (or cheered, as I was) by how well the author skewers much of the high-sounding foolishness that currently infests the ivory tower. As a work of detective fiction this book isn't at the same level as the magnificent "Flynn" or "Flynn's Inn." At the same time, it isn't as far-fetched as "The Buck Passes Flynn," which was probably the low point of the four Flynn novels. Perhaps the writing isn't quite as witty as these earlier novels, and the plot is not as involved, but the tradeoff is more than acceptable, because two hallmarks of the Flynn character -- his wisdom and his empathy -- have increased as the author (and all of us) have mellowed with the years. I particularly enjoyed the gentler treatment of "Grover," who is still an annoying twerp, but every man has a history, as Flynn would say.

THIS IS A MARVELOUS BOOK if you are interested in reading a clever and humorous philosophical discussion of several topics (including the meaning of life and the value of history) by a highly gifted author. But if you simply want the enjoyable fast paced mystery stories replete with the wonderful character development that was characteristic of the previous FLYNN and FLETCH books you will be disappointed. While there is some traditional detective work involved in bringing to conclusion the three separate mysteries which FLynn confronts, it is clearly secondary to a discussion of the ideas generated by the situations and individuals which Flynn confronts.Francis Xavier Flynn is an Inspector in the Boston Police department, which would make this a standard police procedural except that the BPD has no such rank. (You will have to read the book to learn the intricacies behind and relevance of that particular detail.) His early evening sleep is interrupted when his daughter Jenny awakens him to have him help Billy Capriano (whom he later discovers is Jenny's boyfriend), whose ear has been nailed to a tree in the local cemetery. Since Billy will reveal neither the reason for this strange occurrence or the perpetrators, the next day Flynn determines that he will set about attempting to solve the mystery. However, his curiosity is also soon piqued by the fact that a celebrated local cop with a very high conviction record has apparently arrested people based almost solely upon their race. Meanwhile, the fact that his designated assistant, Sergeant Richard "Grover" Whelan is trying to get the BPD to fire him provides some distraction from his endeavors. Finally, he suddenly receives a very high priority although unofficial assignment to discover who is threatening the life of renowned Harvard professor Louis Loveson.Flynn is a truly charming and erudite individual, who proceeds about his tasks with an insight born of strong beliefs combined with an attention to detail. The humor is wonderful, but much of is composed of implicit (and sometimes explicit) ridicule of those beliefs and practices which Flynn finds abhorrent. Thus, these cases all revolve around the clash of values and the ideas that inform them. The story touches on such subjects as adolescence, modern day child rearing practices, political correctness in the acadenmic environment, the validity of the concept of progress, and the impact of television and computers on our beliefs and intellectual habits. A pretty amazing panoply for a book comprised of only two hundred ten (small) pages that is a very fast read! FLynn is a traditionalist, and so is Loveson, whom Flynn desperately wants to protect despite Loveson's unwillingness to cooperate. Loveson believes in rationality and progress and the value of a knowledge of history, rather than the chaos and deconstruction in vogue with so many academics today and often culminating in what the book aptly describes as "existential nihilism". (In all pr

Finally, Mr. McDonald has brought Flynn back. This book is great, just as great as the previous three entries. Pick this one up right away! And don't worry, you don't need to read the first three to follow this story. Now if we can only get him to write another Fletch.

Flynn's World is an excellent return to the Flynn series. It takes place shortly after the previous Flynn novel finished, but you do not need to have read any of the other Flynn novels to enjoy this one (you will not understand 2 or 3 obscure references, but they are not critical in any way to the enjoyment of the book).There are 3 main plots: a boy gets his ear nailed to a tree, an aging professor is being threatened, and a fellow police officer is apparently arresting only minorities. Each plot illustrates the theme of the book (basically, 'you must know where you're coming from to understand/have any idea of where you're going').The subplot of the boy nailed to the tree gets the most attention, and it is the most interesting one as well. Its resolution is heartwarming. The subplot of the harassed professor is interesting, but I figured it out as soon as the harassing character appeared. The discussions of campus/office politics around this plot are interesting.The subplot of the bigoted police office gets the least amount of space, and lacks interest as well. It seems tacked on.It is good to see that Cocky has been reinstated.If you've read and enjoyed previous Flynn novels, or other McDonald novels, you won't need a positive review to convince you to buy this book.If you've never read anything by McDonald, this is as good a place to start as any, and I highly recommend that you do start. He's a real treat to read.