Donald Westlake has died. This is a severe bummer. I just recently started reading the Parker books (published by Westlake under the name Richard Stark), and while I’m looking forward to reading even more of them, it will be a drag to know that the man who wrote them won’t be writing any more. I was never a fan of his more popular Dortmunder series, but the Parker books I’ve read so far have all been excellent examples of the hard-boiled genre, and any guy who merits boundless admiration from the brilliant but famously cranky Lawrence Block is all right with me. Westlake will definitely be missed.
More on the subject courtesy of Sarah Weinman, including many, many links to interviews with and articles about the man.
READING: Roberto Bolano — 2666
HEARING: Eyehategod — IN THE NAME OF SUFFERING
