I’m from an generation for whom Avery Brooks is best known for playing Captain Sisco of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. For another generation, and a different set of genre fans, he is perhaps better known for his 65 episode run as Hawk, PI Spenser’s sometime companion (who even had his own short lived series A Man Called Hawk), in the TV’s Spenser for Hire. Hawk, though present in Promised Land, makes a fairly limited (and first) appearance; though it is an appearance the certainly leaves an impression.Promised Land like many a detective story before it begins with a fairly simple missing persons case. PI Spenser is hired by a suburban businessman to find his missing wife. As things progress the plot takes a dramatic shift in two different directions when the missing wife gets entangled with some shady characters while her husband must fend off local toughs. The plot is fairly light on the actual mystery elements shifting away from the hermeneutic mode towards a greater emphasis on examining how Spenser reacts to the situation (thus creating apprehension and excitement via the proairetic code).The Promised Land, in addition to having an engaging plot, spends a lot of time focusing on the character and identity of Spenser and his relationship to Susan Silverman. Indeed by throwing Spenser into a domestic case in which a wife is questioning the traditional gender roles she has been living and husband who is trying his hardest to live by his own predetermined gender roles Parker provides fruitful ground for examining Spenser’s own views on relationships.This distracts from detective/crime novel aspects of Promised Land pushing those aspects to the background in favor of something more closely resembling a character study. In addition, I believe this marks the first introduction of Hawk into the series providing for a broadening of Spenser’s background and past; aiding in the creation of a more dynamic character and (one might hope) hooking readers into future volumes. While the plot was certainly exciting I found the examination of Spenser’s relationship and philosophy more fascinating then the novel’s main plot thread. Susan, and the secondary characters throughout the novel, serve as foils; means to both question and illuminate Spenser himself and, in the end, bring him into a more direct focus for the reader.As mentioned the novel spends a great deal of time examining traditional gender roles and Spenser’s own opinions thereof. On the topic of marriage and people I think Spenser is fairly concise (though he elaborates later on) and clear when he first speaks to the MIA wife:Sanctity of marriage is an abstraction, Mrs. Shepard. I don’t deal in those. I deal in what it is fashionable to call people. Bodies. Your basic human being. I don’t give a goddamn about the sanctity of marriage. But I occasionally worry about whether people are happy.It is that last line I think that forms the foundation of Spenser’s actions throughout the course of Promised Land. It is a fairly noble purpose and one that doesn’t always earn Spenser a lot of friends. While the quote above marks the first time in the novel that I recall Spenser explicitly describing himself much of the novel is spend in dialogues that, while relevant to the novels plot, seem explicitly written to set the guidelines or template by which we can define Spenser. Mrs. Shepard points out Spenser’s innate character later in the novel:You reek of machismo, and yet you are a very caring person. You have all these muscles and yet you read all those books. You’re sarcastic and a wise guy and you make fun of everything and yet you were really afraid I’d say no a little while ago and two people you don’t even like all that much would get into trouble.A not-so-typical tough guy with heart, brains, and brawn. It’s a fairly concise and accurate definition but one that ignores many of the subtleties that are reflected in Spenser’s conversations with Susan. While these dialogues, and Spenser’s own musings, can occasionally come off as somewhat preachy they are by and large elegantly done and make for some compelling reading.Promised Land is an excellent read well deserving of it 1977 Edgar Award win. Not only doesn’t it prevent a thrilling crime element it is a prim example of the subtly and nuance that is possible in detective fiction. The discussion of gender roles, marriage, and relationships were, especially for the seventies, topical given the prevalence of the Women’s Liberation Movement during that decade and even today remain fascinating. This was my Spenser novel and, if you’ve never tried a Spenser novel before, Promised Land might be a place to start.
Spenser is a wisecracking former boxer turned private investigator and he is just settling into his new office when enters Harv Shepard, a beleaguered businessman who is looking for someone to help locate his runaway wife. So begins Promised Land, the fourth novel by Robert Parker, that follows the exploits of his cerebral but tough character, detective Spenser. Why Harv Shepard's wife abandoned her family and exactly where she has gone comprise only half the intrigue in this story, though Spenser soon discovers that Harv is a man in deep trouble, involved with a crooked loan shark and tangled in an ailing business venture. The real reason we keep turning the pages of Promised Land is because of the compelling figure cut by detective Spenser. The way in which he gets the information he gets about the case from police detectives, bartenders, and local thugs-Spenser's unique bracing blend of irony and sincerity that almost never encourages the people he encounters to really like him--is as interesting as the information he gets. Spenser is clever, often hilarious and his quips have something more than self-amusement as their end. Beneath the air of insouciant detachment and irony is a quixotic concern, as witnessed by his often self-sacrificing actions. The people Spenser meets often made predictable mistakes, falling into the same traps he has seen countless others fall into, and out of which they are mistakenly sure they can get out. Although he is weary of watching this pageant of human weakness and failure time and again, Spenser cannot help but become emotionally entangled in his cases, no matter how numbingly predictable they may be.
What do You think about Promised Land (1992)?
Disappointing--hard to believe this won the 1977 Edgar Award for Best Mystery. The plot was not very interesting, nor did the dialogue sparkle with as much wit as I've come to expect from Parker's books, no matter which series. Read this, instead, as an interesting period piece (published 1976) on a (not unsympathetic) male perspective of 2nd-wave feminism, as an insight into the development of Spenser and Susan's commitment to each other (including much philosophizing on gender roles and heterosexual relationships), as the first book that introduces Hawk to the series.
—E
In the fourth installment of the Spenser series, Spenser is hired to find a man's wife. When he finds her and discovers she doesn't want her husband to know where she is, Spenser obliges. But the case doesn't stop there. The husband is in trouble with a loan shark and the wife has taken up with some shady fanatical women. Spenser has to try to save them both. Hawk is introduced in this novel.I absolutely LOVE Robert Parker's Spenser. He's a complex character with many conflicting characteristics. But the conflictions work. It's hard not to be endeared to his wit and determination to "do right." The introduction of Hawk adds a new layer of complexity to Spenser's character as well. Hawk mentions to Susan that he and Spenser are more alike than she notices, and I think that's very true. Right down to the single names. When Spenser tells the police captain about Hawk, the captain wants to know what Hawk's full name is. Spenser says, "I don't know; just Hawk." At one point in the novel Spenser says to Hawk, "Hawk, all this time I've known you I never could figure out why sometimes you talk like an account exec from Merrill Lynch and sometimes you talk like Br'er Bear." Hawk's response is, "Ah is the product of a ghetto education. Sometimes my heritage keep popping up." Besides the wit in both characters it struck me as mirroring Spenser's ability to "play dumb" when the need arises.I continue to be in awe of Parker's magic with language. One of the points that it stood out the most for me in this novel was when Spenser makes the observation, "I don't know if I was scared or not, but Shepard was so scared his face didn't fit." I could have NEVER come up with that description, but when I read it, I could vividly see what Parker was talking about. I just couldn't help but smile at that sentence.There were two reasons I didn't give this book five stars. Had I been able to use a half star option, this would have definitely been a 4 1/2 star rating. The reasons I didn't opt for five were 1.) I haven't figured out what Parker is doing with his punction yet. In a lot of the questions the characters ask, the sentence ends with a period, not a question mark. There were several instances where I had to go back and reread before I realized he was asking a question not making a statement. The other reason that kept me from five stars on this was the rationale for the women robbing the bank. Now, this may have more to do with when the book was published, but I at first thought it was a joke. However, no one seemed to find it as absurd as me, the reader. So, I wonder if it was a viable motive in 1976 when the book was published as opposed to today?Regardless of these two minor points, I LOVED this book. Moving on to #5...
—Jen
If you like crime fiction, I'd recommend the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. This is my second book in the Spenser series. It is set in the 1970s. Perhaps the more recent books are less dated. The writing is loaded with cliches, some funny, some not, but in general by mid book were tiresome to me. A great deal of attention goes to selecting various types of beer. Spenser is a philosopher and so much of the book has him giving his views on topics that probably were fresh ideas in the 70s, such as feminism and racism. The plots are totally, in my opinion, far fetched. For example, in this book his client was with two other women who robbed a bank and killed a guard. Of course, she is guilty of first degree murder, now at least. Maybe then the laws were different? He gets her out of trouble by arranging a crazy gun purchase deal. He bargains with the police to keep her out of it. Hopefully when the case goes to court, the client's co-criminals won't mention her name (NOT!) I can't quite see why Parker is considered one of the best. I also recommend the Sue Grafton series for great detective fiction. The Kellerman books are good reads and there are many others.Why did I read this book? I took a course about crime fiction, and we studied the Parker books. I will say that the writing moves. Spenser likes to cook and Parker gives a very detailed account of all of his food preparation.
—Bonnie Walker
