Posted on 08/27/2004 5:27:39 PM PDT by Temple Owl
Travis McGee Says a Long Goodbye
By Lawrence Henry
Published 8/27/2004
My old college roomie from time to time cusses me out roundly for introducing him to the Travis McGee novels of John D. MacDonald. Like me, Mike was raised reading quality lit (he majored in classics, and teaches Greek and Latin), and we both came to popular literature -- indeed, to the very idea of reading for fun -- late in life. Like me, Mike was stunned by McGee and MacDonald -- by the sheer quality, the go-to-hell abandoned narrative mastery (MacDonald rejoiced in digression, and his readers rejoiced with him, as he threw his storytelling loops out into the universe and then reeled them back in, fast or slow, inevitably to the story, always the story), by the settings, the crimes, the characters (some of the most chilling villains ever), the social commentary. The last McGee appeared in 1985.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Cyborg, have you read his book?
Would you believe I didn't know he wrote a book? Duly embarassed :/
I haven't read John MacDonald but it is hard to believe that popular fiction can get any better that the aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O-Brian.
I could never figure that out either. Especially since you wouldn't need a special effects mega-budget. And at least one of McDonald's books was made into a successful flick, Cape Fear.
I never saw it, but I want to find it and watch it now (kind of like wanting to see a train wreck, I guess).
Geeze ... From the headline, I thought this was your "opus" ...
My favorite escapist literature genre is the police procedural..especially the 87th precinct novels of Ed McBain. I could never figure out if McGee's alter ego, Meyer, was somehow "related" to Det Meter Meyer...they sound like long separated twins...Well, if I ever want to get a PhD in Eng lit.there's my thesis..
Another movie I'd like to get a copy of is "The Detective" with Frank Sinatra. I have no idea how good it was. All I know is that Frank never did a movie based on the book sequel, "Nothing Lasts Forever," but Bruce Willis eventually did (three guesses as to the movie name).
Did you know Ed McBain wrote the Blackboard Jungle?
I often have a fantasy of running my own movie company. One of my first projects would be to immediately begin making the "Travis McGee" series into movies.
Well, that and getting Jimmy Buffett to finally write a screenplay for "Where Is Joe Merchant?"
Oh, and during the 1960's, two movies were made with the character "Tony Rome", which was just a ripoff of McGee with Frank Sinatra playing him. Same boat, located in Fort Lauderdale, same Private Eye stuff.
Springfield's greatest hero.
I think "The Detective" was based on a Lawrence Sanders novel. He was another great mystery writer.
Me too. Especially from something like Dark of the Sun which came out about the time of the McGee movie. I can't think of what McGee book the Taylor movie was based on.
Great minds think alike :-)
Yes, but when he wrote the Blackboard Jungle it was under his real name--Evan Hunter.
Dirk Pitt - I think of him as looking like a modern day Travis McGee.....
swoon....
I love new authors, and enjoy the whimsical.
Thanks for the tip!
Whose Dirk Pitt?
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