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A review by saareman
Hit Man by Lawrence Block
3.0
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Hitter*
A review of the HarperCollins eBook edition (March 17, 2009) of the William Morrow & Co. hardcover original (January 21, 1998).
Lawrence Block returned to writing about the neurotic hitman John Keller in 1998, after having first introduced him in the short story [b:Answers to Soldier: a Keller short story|58396068|Answers to Soldier a Keller short story|Lawrence Block|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624330751l/58396068._SY75_.jpg|91596087] (1984). That short story became Chapter 1 in the new collection and sets the tone for the rest to come.
The challenge in writing about an anti-hero character is to make them either sympathetic or charismatic enough for a reader to want to continue reading. Keller's neuroticism makes him at least somewhat sympathetic, but it grows tiresome in the long run.
Keller takes contracts from an "old man" broker in White Plains, NY and often banters with secretary Dot. He travels to out-of-town jobs from his Manhattan, NYC apartment. While onsite he muses about what it would be like to live another life in these towns. He goes to therapy. He gets a dog. He gets a dogwalker (as he is often out of town). The dogwalker eventually becomes a live-in girlfriend. The therapist, the old man, the dog and the dogwalker eventually all disappear from his life (not all of them naturally). That's about it.
This was part of my Lawrence Block re-read of books from 20 to 40+ years ago. I'm mostly enjoying the Matt Scudder series, the John Kellers are more of a chore. I started this over a month ago, putting it aside during TIFF24. There wasn't a great pull to get back to it, but now it is done. I'll try 1 or 2 more, but am not so sure about whether they'll stand up.
Footnote
* Yes, I stole the idea for my lede from the title of Alan Sillitoe's short story collection [b:The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner|233436|The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner|Alan Sillitoe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327975162l/233436._SY75_.jpg|950329] (1959).
Trivia and Links
I read a considerable number of Lawrence Block books in my pre-GR and pre-reviewing days. Probably 40 or so out of the 100+ that are available. That included all of the Matt Scudder books, several of the Bernie Rhodenbarrs, several of the Evan Tanners, several of the Kellers, a dozen or so standalones and some of the memoirs. There were even a few of the earlier pulp novels which were originally published under pseudonyms. This re-read is part of an ongoing look back at some of those.
Lawrence Block (June 24, 1938 - ) considers himself retired these days, but still maintains an occasional newsletter with the latest issued in August 2024. He self-publishes some of his earlier works that have otherwise gone out of print, using his own LB Productions imprint.
A review of the HarperCollins eBook edition (March 17, 2009) of the William Morrow & Co. hardcover original (January 21, 1998).
"Answers to Soldier" marked Keller's first appearance—and I never expected to write more about the wistful hit man. But time passed, and I got to thinking about him. - Author Lawrence Block.
Lawrence Block returned to writing about the neurotic hitman John Keller in 1998, after having first introduced him in the short story [b:Answers to Soldier: a Keller short story|58396068|Answers to Soldier a Keller short story|Lawrence Block|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624330751l/58396068._SY75_.jpg|91596087] (1984). That short story became Chapter 1 in the new collection and sets the tone for the rest to come.
The challenge in writing about an anti-hero character is to make them either sympathetic or charismatic enough for a reader to want to continue reading. Keller's neuroticism makes him at least somewhat sympathetic, but it grows tiresome in the long run.
Keller takes contracts from an "old man" broker in White Plains, NY and often banters with secretary Dot. He travels to out-of-town jobs from his Manhattan, NYC apartment. While onsite he muses about what it would be like to live another life in these towns. He goes to therapy. He gets a dog. He gets a dogwalker (as he is often out of town). The dogwalker eventually becomes a live-in girlfriend. The therapist, the old man, the dog and the dogwalker eventually all disappear from his life (not all of them naturally). That's about it.
This was part of my Lawrence Block re-read of books from 20 to 40+ years ago. I'm mostly enjoying the Matt Scudder series, the John Kellers are more of a chore. I started this over a month ago, putting it aside during TIFF24. There wasn't a great pull to get back to it, but now it is done. I'll try 1 or 2 more, but am not so sure about whether they'll stand up.
Footnote
* Yes, I stole the idea for my lede from the title of Alan Sillitoe's short story collection [b:The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner|233436|The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner|Alan Sillitoe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327975162l/233436._SY75_.jpg|950329] (1959).
Trivia and Links
I read a considerable number of Lawrence Block books in my pre-GR and pre-reviewing days. Probably 40 or so out of the 100+ that are available. That included all of the Matt Scudder books, several of the Bernie Rhodenbarrs, several of the Evan Tanners, several of the Kellers, a dozen or so standalones and some of the memoirs. There were even a few of the earlier pulp novels which were originally published under pseudonyms. This re-read is part of an ongoing look back at some of those.
Lawrence Block (June 24, 1938 - ) considers himself retired these days, but still maintains an occasional newsletter with the latest issued in August 2024. He self-publishes some of his earlier works that have otherwise gone out of print, using his own LB Productions imprint.