tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217293420910963553.post8228713155978208337..comments2023-04-18T04:57:05.205-04:00Comments on Somebody Dies: Memory by Donald E. Westlake (Hard Case Crime)Craig Clarkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340904520617472135noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217293420910963553.post-87343649084153628922010-01-24T16:48:37.599-05:002010-01-24T16:48:37.599-05:00Thanks for the kind words. I was afraid I was so ...Thanks for the kind words. I was afraid I was so laudatory that people would be turned off -- that no one would believe it could possibly be that good.Craig Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340904520617472135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217293420910963553.post-90409676678142226662010-01-23T03:44:12.581-05:002010-01-23T03:44:12.581-05:00Goodness, now I have to read this! I'm going t...Goodness, now I have to read this! I'm going to check the Hard Case website for the pub date. Thanks for the great reivew.Brian Drakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01233187184688491057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217293420910963553.post-36897705214774397482010-01-22T20:52:08.367-05:002010-01-22T20:52:08.367-05:00Hi, Ed. Thanks for the compliment. Next time I r...Hi, Ed. Thanks for the compliment. Next time I read your mind, I'll try rooting around for a novel or two. :)<br /><br />I wanted to wait till closer to the pub date, but I simply had to get out what I had to say. Memory is a book that inspires that kind of passion -- I want to tell everybody I see about it, even though I know half of them wouldn't know what the hell I'm talking about.<br /><br />It is the kind of book you reread to see what makes it work so well. (Though in this case, I'm pretty sure great instincts had a lot to do with it.)Craig Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340904520617472135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217293420910963553.post-32622945324719750382010-01-22T17:41:48.286-05:002010-01-22T17:41:48.286-05:00Dammit you stole my opening line. :) I was holding...Dammit you stole my opening line. :) I was holding off blogging my own review till pub date grew closer. But you hit exactly what I was going to say. Imagine what Westlake's career might have been if this a) had been published in its time and b) appreciated for its brilliance. I wouldn't go quite as far as you do in saying that the rest of his work seems minor compared to this but I sure know what you're saying. I can't think of any other crime novelist who wrote a book half as original and devastating as Memory. This is world class literature. Great review btw. I'll see what I can crib of it to add to my own review. :)Ed Gormanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06126267358266480356noreply@blogger.com