| The Getaway Car Contributor(s): Westlake, Donald E. (Author), Stahl, Levi (Editor), Stahl, Levi (Introduction by) |
|
 |
ISBN: 022612181X ISBN-13: 9780226121819 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $16.20 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Mystery & Detective Fiction - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: 813.54 |
| LCCN: 2014003017 |
| Physical Information: 0.74" H x 6.02" W x 9.06" (0.83 lbs) 256 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Over the course of a fifty-year career, Donald E. Westlake published nearly one hundred books, including not one but two long-running series, starring the hard-hitting Parker and the hapless John Dortmunder. In the six years since his death, Westlake's reputation has only grown, with fans continuing to marvel at his tightly constructed plots, no-nonsense prose, and keen, even unsettling, insights into human behavior. With The Getaway Car, we get our first glimpse of another side of Westlake the writer: what he did when he wasn't busy making stuff up. And it's fascinating. Setting previously published pieces, many little seen, alongside never-before-published material found in Westlake's working files, the book offers a clear picture of the man behind the books--including his thoughts on his own work and that of his peers, mentors, and influences. The book opens with revealing (and funny) fragments from an unpublished autobiography, then goes on to offer an extended history of private eye fiction, a conversation among Westlake's numerous pen names, letters to friends and colleagues, interviews, appreciations of fellow writers, and much, much more. There's even a recipe for Sloth la Dortmunder. Really. Rounded out with a foreword by Westlake's longtime friend Lawrence Block, The Getaway Car is a fitting capstone to a storied career and a wonderful opportunity to revel anew in the voice and sensibility of a master craftsman. |
Contributor Bio(s): Stahl, Levi: - Levi Stahl is the marketing director of the University of Chicago Press and the editor of The Getaway Car: A Donald E. Westlake Nonfiction Miscellany. Westlake, Donald E.: - Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was a prolific author of crime fiction. In addition to creating a popular comic series about a hapless thief named John Dortmunder, he also wrote an acclaimed series of books under the name Richard Stark about a heister named Parker. He won three Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America and in 1993 the group awarded him their greatest honor, naming him a grand master. |