Get Real

I am sorry to see Donald Westlake go. He was one of the best. In this his last Dortmunder novel, we find outselves in the fun and funny and wierd world of reality TV with a fairly desperate young producer trying to keep his head above water by making a "reality" show about one of the gang's heists. Needless to say, Dortmunder and crew, while going along with the idea, have their own hidden agenda or agendas. Fun New York City crime fiction. Not too heavy at all. A few flat characters but mostly a delight. So long, Donald.

Books and the authors who write them become important parts of our lives. A new novel featuring a beloved series character by our favorite author becomes a special event, something anxiously anticipated. So it has been for the millions of fans of Donald E. Westlake over the years. Westlake died at the age of 75 last New Year's Eve. You know an author has left his mark when the first thing you think of after the passing of the man is the passing of his creations. When I heard that Westlake had died, my first selfish thought was, "Well, what happened to Parker, the noir heist man he wrote about as Richard Stark, or to John Dortmunder, the hardworking burglar who plans so often went so wrong?" And the sad finality is that they, like Sherlock Holmes, Steve Carella and the gang from the 87th Precinct, are gone now as well. But sometimes not without a glorious sendoff, a final gift in the form of one last book. GET REAL is the 14th and final Dortmunder novel. It is not a sad occasion but a joyous book that will make you want to go right back to the start and reread the entire series starting with THE HOT ROCK in 1970. Westlake was a prolific author of over 100 books and a three-time Edgar Award winner. He could write very dark stories --- noir --- with the best of the hard-boiled masters. But it was while trying to come up with a Parker novel about a jewel heist that Westlake discovered John Dortmunder, a small-time burglar with big-time plans. And while Parker is about as funny as a massive heart attack --- and has given a few --- Dortmunder naturally finds himself in funny situations. We meet Dortmunder again on page one of GET REAL waiting on a New York street corner for his getaway driver and crew mate, Stan Murch, who has a lead on a job. Westlake describes Dortmunder: "A slope-shouldered, glum looking individual in clothing that hadn't been designed by anybody, he knew what he looked like when he stood for a while in one place on a street corner, and what he looked like was a person loitering with intent." Stan's mom, who drives a New York City cab, is, like any mom, worrying about her son. Since we have entered some sort of super security state now, where we're being watched all the time, she declares, "It is time, Stanley, you underwent a career change." For Dortmunder, it makes no difference, she tells him, since he has no marketable skills anyway. Just what he needs to hear. But he pays closer attention when he finds that she recently had a fare who is a reality TV show producer looking to do a new program based on real crooks. There are not exactly a lot of things falling off the back of trucks these days for either crooks or professional writers. So the boys agree to meet with the producer, Doug, of Get Real Productions, maker of such cultural classics as "The One-Legged Race."He takes one look at Dortmunder and sees dollar signs. Imagine a series about a crew of burglars actually planning and conducting a heist. It sounds like someth

I've read all the Dortmunder series, and many other of Westlake's and this and Drowned Hopes are the best, although they all are wonderful. The premise here is that the crooks are asked to appear on a "reality" show on TV, planning and executing their crime. Complications set in. Dortmunder isn't as dominant a character in this book compared to many others, but he is still the main man. Lots of laughs, and a fun read even for folks who don't read or particularly like "crime" fiction. Hard to classify Westlake, other than entertaining. Someone needs to come out with the entire Dortmunder series in a boxed set! They've made a few into movies, but the movies do not capture the irony or the sadness of Dortmunder that makes him someone you care about. The movies are all slap stick versions that miss the deeper "the world's against me" doggedness of Dortmunder.

There is a story, possibly apochcryphal, that, when George Gershwin died one of his friends said: "I can't see how we can go on with no more Gershwin." To which another replied: "Worse yet, no more Gershwin songs!" This is how I, and I would guess, all of us, feel. As bad as it is not having Donald Westlake around, it is even worse to know we won't get any more Westlake novels. But if we MUST accept that, at least we'l have the comfort of knowing he went out on a high note. "Get Real" is laugh out loud funny from page 1. It is SO funny that it ALMOST keeps us from tears at our loss. Have fun up there, Mr Westlake. I can't wait for Dortmunder's caper stealing the Pearly Gates.

First of all, RIP Donald E. Westlake. We will miss you and all your alter egos. ---------------------- Initial QUICK REVIEW: Now I must admit I just got this book yesterday and have only read the first page. But that first page is such a masterful description of John Dortmunder it deserves a review of its own. I will come back and update this review after I have read the whole book. As I said, the description of Dortmunder is masterful. I will quote just a bit of it here: "He looked liked a person loitering with intent. The particular intent, as any cop casting an eye over Dortmunder would immediately understand, was beside the point, and could be fine-tuned at the station." OK -- back to the book, which, based on the first page alone, I expect to be a wonderful, if sad, farewell to John Dortmunder and the gang at the OJ Bar and Grill. ---------------------- Now that I have read the book, here is a FULL REVIEW: In case you don't know, John Dortmunder is a thief. That's his job and he's pretty good at it. He is the leader of an informal little gang. He comes up with clever schemes. He thinks on his feet and extracts himself and his friends from difficult situations. Unfortunately Lady Luck seems to have it in for John. No matter how clever his scheme, now matter how carefully executed, things go wrong in, shall we say, "interesting" ways. Things have a way of working themselves out in the end but John and his friends never hit the big one despite coming *so* close so many times. It's no wonder poor John has such such a pessimistic view of his chances. But being the professional that he is, he never gives up. At least not with a little prodding from his friends. OK, maybe lots of prodding. Well, it's a living. And an honest one at that when compared to the dealings of many of the characters he is up against in this and most of his other capers. John Dortmunder first came to light in the novel _The Hot Rock_ in 1970. That's 39 years of mis-adventures for us to enjoy. If you haven't read any of the Dortmunder books that would be a good place to start. The books do stand alone and need not be read in order, but I think reading a few early ones first may help you develop a feel for the characters. In those 39 years Dortmunder has not aged nor changed in any way. The world around him did go through 39 years of change -- Dortmunder would never call it progress -- and through it all Dortmunder remained as solid as a rock. His friends have mostly kept up with the times (but also remain ageless). They have cell phones and use Google to do research. But not our John. He had a wall phone in his kitchen in 1970 and it's still his only phone in 2009. Even an answering machine is too much of a modern gadget for him to let it intrude into his world. Donald Westlake had a way of telling Dortmunder's stories that has been imitated but never equaled. Clever plots, clever dialog and wonderful characters. The premis of this tale is "reality television". A