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5.0 out of 5 stars
Symbolism Steeps & Steams. Spenser Loses Sleep, Speaks-in-Tongues to Loss & Life, April 27 2007
This might not be much of a review since the only word which has come to mind since I've finished the read is, "WOW."
More than most offerings in this series so far, # 11 VALEDICTION concluded a catharsis which had been building through previous plots. The theme set by the title and dedication in THE WIDENING GYRE, # 10, continued to gyrate here, accumulating insight about the center holding (at the cliff-edge of a workable level of obsession), weathering The Storm, using as Super Glue a commitment to Capital "L" LOVE.
Even so, I believe that a reader could open this offering in the series as a first taste of Spenser and easily slip into the plot (more like willingly fall down a well) and enjoy it. I'm thankful, though, that I received the addictive effect of having carefully read the previous 10 books in order, prior to approaching VALEDICTION.
The solitary, diary-narrative-style set in GYRE continued in VALEDICTION, yet with a gradual erosion of the set-apart, lonely P. I. Emotions ran (and rutted mesmerizing-ly) so deeply that, especially in retrospect, I felt more like I had lived within this book instead of reading its words. I fell so far into the story that I'm not able to immediately recall details of the action, though (they were abundant?) there was plenty (of delicious detail(s?) and apothecary action).
I was particularly intrigued by purposely-parallel-situations exposing various levels-of-obsessions. Parker used Spenser's male client as a juxtaposition of nearly identical feelings of loss endured in a contrasted way to Spenser's handling of Susan's journey taking her further and further away. The precise way in which Susan initiated her abandonment of Spenser was quietly shocking, to the reader as well as to Spenser. Yet, Parker's way of dealing with this complex type of trauma, through Spenser and other characters, was one of the best dramatizations I've read, of coming through the deepest types of separation or loss.
This novel traveled to the ends of several roads in the visceral labyrinths of human intimacy. Lusciously included in this labyrinth were signature scenes with Hawk, Paul & Paige; touching phone conversations with Susan; and a Partridge-Pear-Tree-Gateway, which opened "Through-The-Looking-Glass" of the woman-at-the-drawing-board who'd been posed through several previous novels, in the window across from Spenser's office. Whew. Take a breath.
Impressive to the Nth degree, Dr. Parker. You've done it again, yet gone beyond anywhere you'd been. I have no doubt that the next eleven Spenser novels have been written at sequential levels of mastery, with the first eleven proving a foundation of perfection.
Landmark. Lazarus. Phenomenon. Whatever. Wow.
Linda Shelnutt
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Spenser facing his enormous emotional vulnerabilities, April 11 2004
Spenser is without a doubt as tough as they come. However, he also can be as sappy as they come, with emotional vulnerabilities that can get him killed. The book opens with Spenser and Susan Silverman attending commencement at Harvard, where she is awarded a Ph. D in clinical psychology. Shortly after this event, Susan informs him that she is moving to Los Angeles in an attempt to be alone for awhile. Spenser is devastated, and Paul Giacomin moves in with him in an attempt to help him through the crisis. Hawk and Spenser's other friends do what they can, but he has lost much of his will to live.
He is asked to investigate the disappearance of a woman, which leads him to an unusual religious cult. Nothing is as it seems and Spenser makes mistakes that nearly get him killed. This book describes him as a powerful, ruthless and yet very vulnerable person. Parker takes the vulnerability to the edge of believability, but wisely pulls back from that point. Despite his anguish and lack of interest in living, Spenser is still a formidable fighting machine, wisecracking with friends and foes alike.
Spenser beds a woman who works near him, and afterward he sleeps for the first time since Susan left. However, that relationship ends when Spenser kills four of the five killers sent to eliminate him. Unlike Susan, this woman cannot accept the fact that Spenser is forced to kill people in his line of work.
This is a Spenser book that many will dislike and others will consider their favorite. The romantic vulnerability of Spenser has always been there, but in this book it is greatly expanded. If you like romance, then you will enjoy it. However, if your tastes are more for the action, then this may be one of your least favorite novels in the series.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Ol' Parker, Aug 13 2003
He rarely disappoints, and he rarely surprises. Parker is as dependable as they come, and so it is with Valediction. The premise in this one is that Susan is taking a break from Spenser, so Spenser is a tad more daredevillish -- but still, it's Spenser through and through. Patented wisecracks, cute self-deprecations, verbal jabs with Hawk, the formula that keeps going and going and going. Our favorite Boston private eye tackles cults in this novel, but don't expect anything deep or grandiose -- just expect to be thoroughly entertained.If you're new to Spenser, you'll find this a great read. If you're an old pro, you won't be disappointed. And if you hate Spenser, well, why the heck are you reading it?
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by Robert B. Parker
by Robert B. Parker
by Robert B. Parker
by Robert B. Parker
by Robert B. Parker
