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Review: The Score, Donald E. Westlake
Oct. 28th, 2011 09:08 amSummary: Parker, no first name given, is a professional thug. Every few months he pulls off a job, usually teaming up with other criminals, to rip someone off for a few thousand dollars so he can live comfortably until the next job comes along. He doesn't give a damn about the people he steals from, he's not afraid to kill (though he'd rather avoid it due to the attention it attracts) and he doesn't take anything personally himself.
Then someone comes along to hire him and his team a for job almost too good to be true. Stealing the contents of an entire town in North Dakota, from the mine payroll to the banks to the jewelry stores. It's a big job, requiring a dozen men, but it's too good a setup to pass on.
Shame the guy that hired them has a personal stake in it.
Review: This is a classic crime novel from the 60's by Westlake, which is more surprising for how short and sweet it is. Unlike most bloated bestsellers you find on the shelves these days I doubt it clocked in much over 50k words. The prose is occasionally elegant, but not flowery, fitting its noir style. At any rate Parker, the main viewpoint character, isn't one to dwell on anything. There's just The Job. If he were a Bujold character he'd be contemplating the morality of his lifestyle even as he was attracted by the thrill. Hell, Parker practically Sgt. Bothari with slightly better social skills and education, but the same basic ruthlessness. But this is Westlake's world, where the only morality is making sure everyone get a fair cut of the profits and thrills are a bad distraction when you're supposed to be doing your job.
Half the book is devoted, naturally, the sheer mundane planning involved in setting up the operation. Even in the 60's you can't buy assault rifles without getting noticed, unless you're careful about it and know the right hobby shop owner. It makes for a fascinating read, and it lends to the realism as Parker rapidly and efficiently deals with disaster when the job inevitably goes south in a big way.
Actually "rapid and efficient" describes the whole book. Not a word is wasted, which is good.
Parker gets annoyed when people screw around...
Then someone comes along to hire him and his team a for job almost too good to be true. Stealing the contents of an entire town in North Dakota, from the mine payroll to the banks to the jewelry stores. It's a big job, requiring a dozen men, but it's too good a setup to pass on.
Shame the guy that hired them has a personal stake in it.
Review: This is a classic crime novel from the 60's by Westlake, which is more surprising for how short and sweet it is. Unlike most bloated bestsellers you find on the shelves these days I doubt it clocked in much over 50k words. The prose is occasionally elegant, but not flowery, fitting its noir style. At any rate Parker, the main viewpoint character, isn't one to dwell on anything. There's just The Job. If he were a Bujold character he'd be contemplating the morality of his lifestyle even as he was attracted by the thrill. Hell, Parker practically Sgt. Bothari with slightly better social skills and education, but the same basic ruthlessness. But this is Westlake's world, where the only morality is making sure everyone get a fair cut of the profits and thrills are a bad distraction when you're supposed to be doing your job.
Half the book is devoted, naturally, the sheer mundane planning involved in setting up the operation. Even in the 60's you can't buy assault rifles without getting noticed, unless you're careful about it and know the right hobby shop owner. It makes for a fascinating read, and it lends to the realism as Parker rapidly and efficiently deals with disaster when the job inevitably goes south in a big way.
Actually "rapid and efficient" describes the whole book. Not a word is wasted, which is good.
Parker gets annoyed when people screw around...
