Parker

50 Years of Parker by the University of Chicago Press

“ When he sat down at his typewriter in 1962 and started writing The Hunter, using the name Richard Stark, Donald E. Westlake thought he was writing a standalone novel. When he got up from his typewriter and sent the manuscript off to his publisher at Pocket Books, he thought he ’ d written a standalone novel—Parker ended the record in the hands of the patrol .
It was lone after his editor read the manuscript that things changed. He called Westlake and said, “ If you let him escape, and you think you can write a couple of these every year, we ’ ve got a series. ” With that, Parker was born. He would go on to star in twenty-four novels, the end one appearing in 2008, eight months before Donald Westlake died .
so who is Parker ? Taciturn and viciously competent, he can seem an cryptic character whose motivations are not constantly acquit or in tune with many readers ’ sensibilities. But in many ways, Parker is a very simple man : if there ’ s a job to do, he does it, and he doesn ’ t like anything that distracts from that. small spill the beans, sex, avarice, haste, sloppiness—all are problems when there ’ second exploit to be done, and Parker ’ s quick to deal with them however he has to. nothing brings down the law like violence, so killing is constantly a stopping point resort. But when it ’ s the alone answer, Parker doesn ’ thymine wince. He ’ randomness got the determination of Bruce Willis in Die Hard, the lightning reflex of Statham in The Transporter, the planning chops of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible, and the relentlessness of the Terminator. ”
Click here to visit the UCP Parker page, where you will find Parker ’ mho rules and a detail score of just about every character, major and minor, that inhabits the Parker population .

Excerpt from Comeback introduction by Lawrence Block ( University Of Chicago Press ; Reprint edition, 2011 )
Back in 1991 I got a earphone bid from Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times Book Review, wanting to know if I ’ d be concerned in reviewing possibly to Dream, Robert B. Parker ’ s sequel to Raymond Chandler ’ s The Big Sleep. I ’ d long been a great fan of both writers, but you might not have known that from my answer. I said, “ Review it ? I don ’ t even want to read it. ” “ I know what you mean, ” Kenny said. “ I don ’ triiodothyronine think I could say anything estimable about it, ” I said, “ and I don ’ thyroxine want to say anything regretful about anybody ’ randomness work, which is why I ’ ve pretty a lot stopped doing reviews. ” Well, he said, how about writing about something I already knew I liked ? An admiration of an previous favored, for a new feature of speech they ’ five hundred started ? Could I think of something I ’ d like to praise in print ? I didn ’ t have to think. “ Don Westlake ’ sulfur Parker books, ” I said. “ Oh, perfect, ” Kenny said. “ I love those books. ” Me besides .
Excerpt from character profile by Kevin Burton Smith, The Thrilling Detective Web Site
decidedly not a individual eye. Richard Stark ’ randomness ( actually Donald Westlake ’ s ) PARKER is a temper professional thief who appeared in a string of about twenty excellent, extremely hardboiled caper paperback originals in the sixties and seventies. demand for Westlake to bring back Parker resulted in the identical well-received ( and appropriately titled ) comeback in 1997. And seven more novels follwed, the serial continuing veracious improving until Westlake ’ s death in 2009. Along with the Parker novels, Stark wrote four Alan Grofield books about Parker ’ s sometime partner in crime. These normally pick up just after Grofield and Parker have finished a problem ; they ’ re a bit light, a spot more Westlake than the early Starks. possibly because Grofield doesn ’ thyroxine see himself as a master thief. He sees himself as an actor, who ’ sulfur criminal exploits allow him to turn down roles he ’ s not besides finical about. The Parker series is frequently cited as one of the absolute best case-hardened series always written, unapologetically brutal and unblinking. It ’ south besides been the inspiration for several movies, although respective directors have had some very different spins on his character, changing his name, his nationality, his race and flush his sex on affair. Rumor has it that when Westlake was asked why Parker was never called Parker in the movies, he replied that he didn ’ metric ton want them to use the name, unless they were going to make a series from the books .
Who is Parker? (Violent World of Parker welcome message)
You ’ ve heard of the hero and the anti-hero…how about the non-hero ? That ’ s how Parker, the main character in a series of novels by Richard Stark ( AKA Donald E. Westlake ) has been described. Parker is a thief, but he ’ s no charming vomit burglar who playfully eludes the silly authorities. He ’ s a pitiless hood who does whatever it takes to get what he wants ( normally money ), and he doesn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate care about a animation person early than himself. Some of the things he does will be repellent ( I hope ) to readers. so why read the stuff ? Because Stark is an excellent writer and the Parker books are exciting and challenging. Like all big crime fiction, the Parker novels give readers not just the report of a crime, but besides a detailed look at the inner workings of a absorbing and original character.

Excerpt of remarks by Darwyn Cooke (2011 Long Beach Comic Con)
Cooke told the audience that adapting the books was fabulously challenging, as they were very static crime novels. Cooke said he felt it was his subcontract to find a way to make the adaptations an concern ocular experience without drawing anything away from the fib. Going along with that, the future audience penis asked him why he did not fair go back to writing his own work rather than adapting. “ The answer is simple : I want to work with the best writer I can find, ” Cooke said, adding with a joke, “ And my write sucks ! ” Explaining he ’ sulfur constantly likened himself more to a director than a writer, Cooke said he believed he worked best coming into person else ’ second story. He besides told the audience that as a fan of the “ Parker ” novels, he felt his own writing would not have “ stood up ” to what Westlake accomplished. “ specially now that he ’ south gone, to be able to carry his workplace forward — ” said Cooke before perceptibly choking up. Composing himself, Cooke continued, “ I assumed ‘ Parker ’ would come and go and everyone in line would hush be going, ‘ Green Lantern ! Green Lantern ! ’ But that doesn ’ t happen ! A lot of people have very turned on to this stuff. I have 23-year-old guys coming up to me and saying, ‘ I didn ’ thyroxine know this was a line of books. I picked up five of them — they ’ re amaze ! ’ therefore, in many ways, working with Donald — in this common sense, I ’ molarity doing more than I would have on my own. ”
Comic Book Aficionado Corey Blake: Richard Stark’s Parker by Darwyn Cooke “ If you like crime fabrication and antic stories, I have a couple of graphic novels that are required read for you. ”

The Hunter: A Conversation with Donald Westlake ( In Ancram, NY — Included with Payback Director ’ s Cut DVD )

Read : Donald Westlake ’ s insertion to the hardbacked Gregg Press version of The Hunter

Excerpt from WRITERS ON WRITING; A Pseudonym Returns From an Alter-Ego Trip, With New Tales to Tell by Donald Westlake for The New York Times
In Flashfire, the Richard Stark novel equitable recently published, he writes, ” Parker looked at the money, and it wasn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate enough. ” In one of his own novels a few years ago, Donald Westlake wrote, ” John Dortmunder and a fail enterprise constantly recognized one another. ” Dortmunder, Westlake ’ s recurring character, proposes a Christmas toast this direction, ” God help us, every one. ” Parker answers the earphone, ” Yes. ” For years, it was enjoyable and fat to go back and forth between the two voices. Letting the one ridicule sleep while the other ridicule stretched helped me avoid triteness, monotony, the furrow of the conversant, kept me from being both bored and, I hope, boring. I missed Stark during his truancy. But last after 15 years I did come to the reluctant conclusion that he was a gone as last class ’ mho bamboozle. then an odd thing happened .