As the Spenser series has progressed, the line between Spenser and Parker has increasingly blurred. Though Parker contends that Spenser is very different from him, he also has insinuated details from his own life and rhetoric that point back to him.
Case in point: "Surrogate" was written in 1982 and concerned a broken marriage. Between 1983 and '84, Parker and his wife Joan separated. This was also reflected in Spenser's separation from Susan in THE WIDENING GYRE (1983) and VALEDICTION (1984).
I read a quote over the weekend to the effect that one doesn't need a good imagination to write, that the best ideas come from life. Unfortunately, the more public Parker lets himself become, the less I can enjoy his books. I see them not as great works of fiction, but rather thinly-veiled wish fulfillment/autobiography.
The thrill is gone.
1 comment:
I don't like blatant correlations between author and fictional character. It distorts my mental picture. I see more Parker and less Spenser when I read the books. I don't much like the idea of paying higher prices while Parker is apparently doing less work to get into character. Maybe I've tired of the books because Parker has come to spout much of the same machismo in real life.
Post a Comment