Single-Minded Purpose

 

Parker by Richard Stark

My Rating: Four out of Five Stars

My Review on Goodreads

I have watched a couple of movies that were adaptations of the Parker series, so I was somewhat aware of this book. When we had the antihero group read for Action/Adventure Aficionados, this definitely came to mind. And yes, Parker is an antihero. He's a criminal, has no misgivings about killing, is very ruthless and can be quite brutal. The way it's written, he doesn't come off as a sympathetic character. Having said that, I found myself immersed in his point-of-view. I didn't like him, but I didn't hate him either. While I enjoyed both cinematic portrayals of Parker that I've seen, neither truly captured the silent air of menace about him that wafts off the page. I think it helps if one is aware going in what you're dealing with. He gets double-crossed and is single-minded in his pursuit of business. There were honestly a couple of moments that I worried he would go past a hard line for me. There's one scene that particularly didn't sit right with me, but otherwise, most of his actions were against people who were arguably worse than him.

The writing style is very distinctive. It's terse, but at the same time, it gives a very clear picture of what is happening. It feels very cinematic, and yet, I don't think either of the adaptations captured the exact feel of the narrative. I would like a movie version set in the original time period.

This is one of those books where it's about the experience. There aren't any characters to root for, and Parker isn't a hero. If you go into the book with that understanding, I think his actions were be in the right context. If you like a tightly written crime thriller about revenge with an unforgiving protagonist and a very retro feel, this one is probably for you.

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