Spanking Watson

Richard Samet "Kinky" FRIEDMAN, writing books diabolically titled alike "How To Lose Friends And Irritate People", "Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola", "Reflections on Country Singers, Presidents, and Other Troublemakers" or "How I Was Born in a Manager, Died in the Saddle, and Came Back as a Horny Toad" (or creating songs together with his "Texas Jewboys" titled "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore") - he is a satirist, checking out, if his readers do have the aristocratic nobility to waste their time; so his stories ain't really important, they are making jokes for example about the crime-genre. The score is by Friedman's style of lightness. The German writer and composer E. T. A. Hoffmann jumpes into my head with his phantastic "The Life and Opinions of the Tomcat Murr" (satirical resemblance to 'The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy', Laurence Sterne): while reading Kinky Friedman's dialogues with his nonchalance cat. Alike the german romantic E.T.A. Hoffmann Friedman uses in "Spanking Watson" a cat view to create a distance to the things. Of course Friedman, who is able to treat ironically President Bill Clinton (presenting him Cuban Cigars) or President George W. (talk shopping with him on the White-House-balcony about football-stars), also is able to make jokes about italian mafia killers, lesbian dancers and day-dreaming detectives without any real work. He *manages to blend, with overpowering skill and boldness, fantasy, wittiness, irony, sharp political criticism and lyricism, giving to the cultivated reader an endless cornucopia of sophisticated, intelligent gladness* a customer wrote in his review - about E.T.A. Hoffmann. It could be said about Kinky Friedman too. My favorite sentence in this Friedman-book: "In everyone of us there is embedded a piece of Idi Amin and a piece of Mother Theresa as well. We should be grateful, that they never have had children together."

"Spanking Watson" is Kinky's eleventh book, and was first published in 1999. As with his other books, Kinky has cast himself as the amateur-PI hero, while some of the other characters have been based on actual friends. As with real-life, the book's Kinky is a cigar-smoking, cat-loving, espresso-guzzling, whiskey-drinking, ex-country and western performer. He shares his loft on Vandam Street with his cat - who he occasionally leaves in charge. Conversations between Kinky and the cat tend to be somewhat one-sided, while the cat consistently refuses to answer the telephone. Winnie Katz still lives upstairs, and continues to run her lesbian dance classes. While this has never caused Kinky any serious problem before, it's been the cause of a slight inconvenience now : the constant pounding on Winnie's floor has left a rather large hole in the Kinkster's roof. Rambam, a genuine PI and Village Irregular, has arranged for two repairmen to help out - Vinnie and Gepetto, known "associates" of Joe the Hyena. Kinky had received his espresso machine several years earlier from Joe, a token of thanks for rescuing his daughter from a mugger. Vinnie and Gepetto, admiring the machine, tell Kinky there's only one problem : Joe doesn't have a daughter. Obviously, Kinky's curious - but Joe is, of course, the sort of Italian "businessman" you don't get curious about. On a lonely Friday night, in an anger encouraged by several generous helpings of Jameson's Whiskey, Kinky writes a series of threatening letters to Winnie - never, of course,with any intention of delivering them, never mind acting on them. When Ratso catches sight of them the next day, Kinky decides to put them to good use. He would provide each of the Village Irregulars with a copy of a note, and ask for their help - while asking them to keep their investigations secret from the other members of the gang. The Irregular who successfully solved the "case" would officially become "Watson" to Kinky's "Sherlock". Of course, this plan would have the added bonus of disrupting not only Winnie's life but also her dance classes. "Spanking Watson" has much in common with the other books by Kinky I've read. Not an entirely serious 'whodunit', it is a fast moving and easily read book. The story, I felt, is much better than his earlier books, and he still delivers his one-liners. While his quips won't be to everyone's tastes, it was a book I thoroughly enjoyed.

I started reading the Kinkster's works here and found it quite amusing with the little sub stories running amuck.If your looking for a way to kill a few hours of your life in a pointless, yet amusing way, pick up this book... or any of Friedman's books.The one thing I learned from this book, no self respecting Italian would ever use a metal bat...

Wanna bust a gut? Kinky is a master comic, and this stuff is FUNNY! Spanking Watson is an improbable tale of a bunch of misfit buddies put into perpetual shenanigans by a master practical joker. It's a quick, hilarious read. This is the kind of book for people who dig the kind of jokes you imagine Tommy Lee Jones would like. And if this ever gets made into a movie, TLJ is just the guy for Kinky's part.

Fast-talkin, cigar-chewin', shot-killing adventures as only the Kinkstah knows how. Just like Blast From The Past, this is Kinky playing to his strengths. Funny, strange, and about as irreverant as you can get. Made me hoot with laughter (not a lot of spanking, though).