Jack Reacher and NPR liberals
I've enjoyed several of the Reacher novels, which, for formula fiction, are pretty good. But the formula is like Elmore Leonard's books in that the people Reacher kills or beats up all have it coming. Someone once pointed out that books by Elmore Leonard and Jane Austen have one important thing in common: happy endings, which is why liberals like the Reacher books. He always wins out over the Bad Guys.
Other pulp writers admire the books. Ken Follett in the NY Times Book Review:
Which of the big fall books are you most looking forward to?
Which of the big fall books are you most looking forward to?
I can hardly wait for “Personal,” by Lee Child. Jack Reacher is today’s James Bond, a thriller hero we can’t get enough of. I read every one as soon as it appears. And by the way, the author is a really nice guy.
Child is a nice guy who writes about a guy who isn't too nice to do battle with the Bad Guys on their own terms.
Child is a nice guy who writes about a guy who isn't too nice to do battle with the Bad Guys on their own terms.
Labels: Reading
posted by Rob Anderson @ 12:13 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
What about that Reacher movie with Tom Cruise?
I haven't seen the movie, but on the face of it, Cruise as Reacher is an epic instance of miscasting, like Omar Sharif as Che Guevara or Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce. Reacher is a big guy, and Cruise is a little guy; Cruise is good-looking, and Reacher isn't.
In a work of literature, isn't how it gets there more important than the ending?
Yes, good point. And how Jane Austen gets there---her prose, her characters---is why she's great and Lee Child is just good.
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