My sister slept with the light on until she was 27. She rightfully blames me. I would leap out of closets with my hands made into claws. I would...
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kathy Kalafarski, January 26, 2010 (view all comments by kathy Kalafarski)
I cannot begin to explain what Robert B. Parker has meant to me thru the years. He just recently passed away and it is a loss to us all. This book is especially touching as he reaches out to a kid he has had no contact with prior but sees a soul near crashing inside so he chooses to make a diff...it is not a sappy book by any means...no one wishes him to save this kid...it is a call he makes and essentially tells the folks involved to f off...this child (Paul) remains in his life thru the rest of his "Spencer" books...I have read every book of his I can get my hands on (thank you Powells). Basically he writes in "pictures"....You can see it as you read it. It does not get much better than that. His characters are tremendous. Real and true to life and very human...good stuff but faults as well. I will mostly miss his character Spenser. He was a true gift. Your descriptions always describe his "Spenser" books as "hard boiled"..and that is true..there is some killing..violence to be sure..all kinds of stuff like that but I say...add a little salt to that hard boiled egg... and a huge heart and also someone not afraid to kill in the name of honor..and in touch with his reasons...ALWAYS in the name of honor is how he did everything THEN toss in a huge amount of sarcasm..add extra sarcasm with another dash of sarcasm and humor and then top it off with more great humor and his great heart and his great cooking and you have someone I did indeed respect (and this is a character in a book!). Also add in his dog Pearl...she deserves to be noticed and his wife to whom he dedicated most of his books too...the man was and is a gift..I wish only that I could have met him and shook his hand to thank him for the sheer enjoyment he brought me...and many others..if you google him you will see all kinds of articles on him both pre and post death...his death rocked me down to my core...I felt like I lost a friend and it is selfish as I simply realize I will have no more books from him...one of his characters is Jesse Stone who has been played by Tom Selleck...and on his (Roberts) blog he wrote.."I will be in town to promote the latest Jesse Stone movie..as will Tom Selleck...if we happen to be there at the same time as we both have mustaches...to tell us apart Tom is the taller one." He was a wonderful hysterical good hearted bad ass guy true to himself and a gift to all of us. I would love it if you guys did a book spread on him...he deserves all that and more...he passed away at his desk...and his publisher said that was where he was happy...I just know he made me happy for many many years. Dear Robert B. Parker may you rest in peace with the angels and be able to hang out with the ones that are allowed to carry firearms because we know that they, as you, would only shoot if necessary. Add that with a tossed ceasar salad and a sauteed fillet with a splash of wine along with some great bread and a picture of Joan and Pearl and Rosie as well as your sons and I know then you are in a happy place. Tell Susan and Hawk I miss them too.
Colin, September 6, 2009 (view all comments by Colin)
This is my favorite in the Spencer series. Early Autumn is one of the few Parker novels that deals with the issues of parenthood and the latent potential of any boy to become a good man. Of course it remains a whirlwind romp that involves crazy fights and passionate love, with the beautiful Susan, but this is a more serious bent than Parker has taken since. If you have read any of the Spencer series or if this is your first time, no other book has set up the characters in a series for powerful emotion, furious fidelity and overwhelming cool than Early Autumn.
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