Richard Stark - The Parker Omnibus
Allison & Busby £9.99
Donald Westlake started writing at the beginning of the ‘60s. His output has been prolific and his books have crossed the boundaries into several sub genres. But he is recognised for his mastery of the mystery/suspense novel. In 1962 Westlake , under the pseudonym Richard Stark, launched a series of paperback originals about a cold blooded professional criminal known only as Parker. "The Hunter" , five years later, was adapted and filmed by John Boorman as "Point Blank", the finest film noir of the decade. Alison & Busby have taken the very welcome step of reissuing all the Parker classics in omnibus editions, three in one. This is the first.
The three novels included ("The Man With The Getaway Face" "The Outfit" and "Deadly Edge") form a sequence and follow Parker through his attempts to evade the revenge of The Outfit/ The Syndicate/The Organisation by acquiring a new face through plastic surgery and then his decision to face up to them once and for all.
Parker is a big man, "flat and squared-off, with boxy shoulders and a narrow waist." His hands are big and "corrugated with veins" . His arms are long and hard. His eyes are "flawed onyx, cold and hard." In the world of the professional criminal its a bad sign when a man begins to think he can start owning things and can afford friendships. "Possessions tie a man down and friendships blind him. Parker owned nothing, the men he knew were just that, the men he knew, not his friends and they owned nothing." But, friends or not, Parker gets respect from the men he knows. When he wants a favour he gets it and doesn’t have to ask twice. Women are another matter. After all, his wife Lynn tried to kill him. Involve them in a heist and chances are there will be a doublecross , or they will set man against man.
Landscapes are vivid, places are real - seedy diners, junkyards, parking lots, stucco bars, gas stations blacktop roads stretching out into the distance. And light - in the after-dark world of the criminal there is "lightspill" as a door is opened, "a pool of light" in the centre of a room, a man enters a club and "light washes down on him". The action may be tough and brutal with a lean and taut style of writing to match, but it is not without its lyrical moments. The re-issue of more of Westlake’s work will be very welcome.
(P.E.D.)
