Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Parker: The Hunter


There are few (if any) protagonists in the world of crime fiction as intriguing or as compelling as that of Richard Stark's Parker.  But it took nearly 30 years before I ever dipped into his workmanlike underworld.  The first books I ever read were those of John Grisham, Michael Crichton, and Stephen King.  Bestseller Boys.  Obsessing on them via magazine articles and interviews I would gather a collection of namedropped authors that had to be consumed.  Through King and his novel The Dark Half, I discovered Richard Stark, the pseudonym of crime writer Donald Westlake.  


I read a few short stories and his novel The Hot Rock, but found them to be a little too light for my horrorhound tastes of the time.  And despite the mid-90s resurrection of his Stark/Parker novels, they never made it onto my shelves.  Now, jump ahead a decade and in 2008 The University of Chicago Press started rereleasing the Parker books.  On a trip to Germany I read The Hunter, The Man With The Getaway Face, and The Outfit.  I was hooked on Parker.

A professional criminal who works a job "every year or so, payroll or armored car or bank."  All work, no play.  He doesn't kill unless you give him no choice.  He doesn't care about you.  He can be ruthless, he can be evil.  But he's always cold; the only emotion you ever see on display is rage...and that really only reveals itself in the first novel, The Hunter.


Unlike most of the books in the series (at least the ten I've read so far, I just started The Black Ice Score), The Hunter doesn't deal with a job, but a job-gone-wrong.  So wrong in fact, that when the book opens he's crawled himself from the grips of death and prison and he's war-marching back into New York City to deal with the woman who plugged him and the man who took his loot.  Revenge.  For me, the best kind of narrative drive.


The Hunter has been adapted into two movies (Point Blank, Payback), but the best adaptation is withoutadoubt Darwyn Cooke's 2009 graphic novel.  It's so spot-on I would even say that if you've read the comic than you've pretty much read the book.  That's a bold statement and I might waffle a bit by saying that the book does a slightly better job at portraying Parker's constant state of anger-driven pursuit, but I don't think Cooke could have drawn every panel with RAGE FACE.  

Stark's words are there, Parker's hate is there.  "For You That Tree Is Dead."  Cold.  Villainous.  Parker is a character that you should not enjoy reading, but of course you do.  It's his confidence.  In a way, the Parker books have little suspense; that is to say, you know that Parker is going to achieve his goal.  He's going to get what he wants, he's just good at his job.  Kick him down, he gets back up and stomps your face in.  

Give him the money for pity's sake.  


--Brad

4 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree with your interpretation of Parker any more Brad. Something tells me that were anyone to ever really meet Parker they would instantly wet themselves.

    And is that Jack Palance in the first pic? He would have made a great Parker. Speaking of which, were say a movie or television series be made today, who would you cast as Parker?

    Were he not already on Mad Men, I'd love to see John Hamm tackle the role.

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  2. That is Jack Palance. That painting is from a Parker art contest Darwyn Cooke had on his blog. Donald Westlake said that if he could cast anyone in the world as Parker he would have cast Jack Palance. Interesting, but, who would I pick? I hadn't thought of Jon Hamm before, but that's a pretty darn good pick. Here's a weird one though, I kinda would like to see Keen Eddie aka Mark Valley tackle the role. He's probably too handsome, but I think he could pull off the cold intensity as seen in the first season of Fringe.

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  3. I agree with you, Valley would make a good Parker. And you can always ugly up an actor if necessary.

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  4. Give him a few bruises and a broken nose.

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