Mr. Majestyk

Another in a long line of Elmore Leonard thrillers. Apparently this one started out as a Charles Bronson film, with the screenplay by Leonard. Story is Clint Eastwood turned down the role so it went to Bronson, dont know if they considered Sylvester Stallone or not. Anyway, this is a short read, only 4.5 hours on the audio version. Majestyk is a tough Army Ranger who has retired to Arizona to grow melons. I never knew how dangerous that occupation is, but apparently is it fraught with big-time gangsters, small-time hoodlums, racists, and very pretty union organizers. Of course, our protagonist overcomes all this, and still gets the melons picked in time. The cops start out arresting Majestyk, then come to support him when they realize he personifies all that is good in our free enterprise system and is a lot tougher than they are. As is typical in Leonard's books, we have great characters (unfortunately the bad guys kill one in a hit and run of a roadside porta-potty), lots of local color, insights into the inner workings (who knew you had to turn melons over by hand if not sufficiently ripe), tough guys, even tougher girls, wine-heads, and gritty dialogue. We even have a crime syndicate run by a corrupt lawyer, who has converted the mob into a limited partnership with an HR department to provide annual performance reviews, corporate housing and bimbos. Everyone should take these Elmore books to the beach or listen to them in the car, always great fun, suitable for all ages.

The more I read Elmore Leonard the more I appreciate movies made from his authentic, down-to-earth stories. Every scene he depicts is shown through the eyes of someone each of us knows as a friend or an acquaintance instead of from some hifalutin artistic writer in love with words or his own voice. Mr. Majestyk, the movie, is one of those rare movies that is both as good as the novel and stays true to the novel itself. Probably it stays true because Elmore Leonard writes in pictures instead of in five syllable words. Also, perhaps, because Mr. Leonard is a master story teller - C. William Anderson, aka Travis C. Ward. There is more --- the book has bonus materials for your reading enjoyment and to ease your effort to complete your collection of Elmore Leonard titles. I promise you this...Read one Elmore Leonard story and you'll bust a gut to get the next, and the next, and the next.

From the prolific pen of legendary crime writer Elmore Leonard, Mr. Majestyk is a short, straightforward action adventure novel with a touch of romance. Vince Majestyk is an Arizona melon grower who rather unwisely incurs the wrath of a professional killer. It's a story of cat and mouse that rapidly changes to one of cat and cat. This is a solidly written novel, which I'd have to characterize as a lesser work of the Leonard canon. The dialogue, as we've come to expect from Leonard, rings very true. Quirky characters and off the wall situations, staples of the author's best fiction, do not play much of a role here. Mr. Majestyk is an easy, enjoyable read. But it is not the unique brand of writing that accounts for Elmore Leonard's stellar reputation.

Mr. Majestyk, an interesting name for a vietnam vet turned Melon Picker. Actually, forget Mr. Majestyk was ever in Vietnam, it isn't that critical to the story. If you knew that Mr. Majestyk was a hunter, then his hard nose attitude would still make sense.All of that however, is an aside. Mr. Majestyk tells the story of a man that has escaped the world of Vietnam and attempts to raise a melon crop. He hires migrant workers to bring his crop in, including the love interest of the story, Nancy. And as others have put it, the job must get done.However, where there is a job, organized is usually not far behind in Leonard's novels. Even in the American Southwest. For Mr. Majestyk, it starts with a two bit hood named Bobby Kopas that tries to muscle in his own crew to pick the product in Majestyk's fields. With a punch and a shot gun, Majestyk drives them off and starts the whole ball rolling.After getting arrested for assaulting Kopas, Majestyk gets involved with a prison break with a Mafia Hitman named Frank Renda. The rest of the novel centers around Renda's planned revenge against Majestyk.I just found out this morning, after having completed the novel, that Mr. Majestyk was also a movie in 1974. I'm not certain which came first - the novel or the movie. However, Leonard wrote them both. The movie stars Charles Bronson, who I can see playing Mr. Majestyk, but I think someone like Clint Eastwood, or a larger actor would have matched my image from the novel better.Again, I digress. I guess I'm not surprised this book is also a movie. Unlike Leonard's more recent novels, Mr. Majestyk is much more action oriented than dialogue driven. That is kind of disappointing because Leonard's dialogue is the best. However, his action in this novel is some of the crispest he has written. I kept thinking to myself that I was surprised this hadn't already been turned into a movie as so many of Leonard's other novels had been - the surprise was on me I guess.This novel is also reminiscent of an old western. The hero (Majestyk) is pursued by the villain (Renda). The law fails, so the hero must take matters into his own hand, and ultimately, there will be a big showdown at high noon. Okay, so they don't meet in the middle of town with a pair of six shooters, but its close.I'd recommend this novel to anyone that enjoys Leonard and is looking for something a little different from him. A lot of the internal dialogue for the characters is missing in this one, but it is a quick read that tells a good story for some unlikely heros.