I am a fan of the Hard Case Crime books, and since moving to Titan Books, they have upgraded their packaging of the books without losing any of the quality. I was looking forward to The Comedy Is Finished as a lost Westlake book. It is set in the waning days of the 1970’s as a bunch of leftover radicals kidnap an older comedian in order to get demands met to release some of their jailed compatriots. The story is a fairly simple plot, with the kidnappers having a number of problems and issues that work themselves out through the story. That provides enough twists and turns to keep it from being a totally predictable story, but the comedian they capture (and very thinly disguised Bob Hope named “Koo Davis”) stuck out like a sore thumb to me. Every situation he encounters is met with a lame one-liner, even though we are told repeatedly that he is in fear for his life. MANY times it threw me out of the story as it would lessen the tension or uncut the emotion that was being built.The story behind the book is that Westlake wrote it, and before it was published, the movie “Kind of Comedy” came out, and Westlake felt they were too similar…but really, other than the idea of someone kidnapping a comedian, they don’t’ have much in common, and The Comedy Is Fished pales by comparison. The book feels unpolished, and may well be a first or second draft, with some plot developments coming out of nowhere and some of the character’s actions also being a shock in that they seem very out of character and out of the ether. It is fast paced, and the ending works, but I think if the book would have gone through a revision, it wou8dl have held together better as a clean narrative. Still looking for a Westlake novel that I like as much as the weakest Parker novel. This isn't it. Meh, unfortunately - kind of interesting to see what he can do with the shackles off (more cursing & sex than you'd expect when you're a Stark reader), and kind of interesting to see him work in some social commentary for a change (he's got stuff to say about America coming out of the flower power '70's), but its just too long & not as compelling as a Stark book - specifically, a Parker Stark book.
What do You think about The Comedy Is Finished (2012)?
A small group of revolutionists kidnap a famous American comedian and hold him for ransom.
—Blah
Good fun, fine kidnapping caper, some laughs, some brutality, good solid Westlake.
—shelby007
A real flashback to the radical politics of the '70s. An interesting read.
—crystaldragon240
