A novel that may turn out to be as poignant- if not more- than when it was originally written almost three decades ago.
Creative Staff:
Author: Donald E Westlake
What They Say:
‘BUT SERIOUSLY, FOLKS.
The year is 1977, and America is finally getting over the nightmares of Watergate and Vietnam and the national hangover that was the 1960s. But not everyone is ready to let it go.
Not aging comedian Koo Davis, friend to generals and presidents and veteran of countless USO tours to buck up American troops in the field. And not the five remaining members of the self-proclaimed People’s Revolutionary Army, who’ve decided that kidnapping Koo Davis would be the perfect way to bring their cause back to life… The final, previously unpublished novel from the legendary Donald Westlake!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
America is a country trying to come to grips with itself as recent events have left a number of the population with a sour disposition toward their government while others feel that the system must be overthrown as it is inherently corrupt and doomed. Inside this boiling pot some are trying to resume their lives as they have found the country has moved past them and what they believed they knew of society and what was for the greater good. They may find of their ideals are at best antiquated and at worst will place them in the crosshairs of different groups who aren’t all that interested in public figures who speak their mind and these individuals may find their potential audience diminished. Others may find that the cause they loved and bleed for has fallen out of favor and behaviors and beliefs that were once shouted to large crowds from megaphones now fall on fewer ears, and few of the voices who were the most vocal are still publicly speaking the same way.
Sound familiar? In this case though, the year is 1977 and the country is trying to come to terms with the fallout from the 60’s radical movement and the Vietnam War which left some deep scars on the nation’s psyche, wounds which the Nixon administration and their role in Watergate have left peeled back again. The story features prominently around Koo Davis, an aging comedian who in many ways is trying to deal with the changing times as much as the nation itself.
Koo rose to fame during a different age, the golden age of radio. Unlike some other stars of that era however his demeanor allowed for a rather fluid transition to the mediums of television and movies and his name carried a good deal of fame, and though he never exactly became one of the top of the line stars work wasn’t hard to come by for him. Koo also was a man who felt the need to give back, so he helped organize and lead USO tours to help support troops overseas through a number of different wars, always being careful to keep politics out of his material.
This changed during the 60s however when Koo was unable to understand what some of his countrymen believed and he allowed some of his frustration at this viewpoint and how it clashed with his view of America to leak through into his work. This move has cost him some support among the general population and Koo now finds himself kind of building his career back up, though it isn’t all bad. While he may not be headlining the biggest motion pictures of the day he does still have a regular TV show which allows him to do what he loves most- perform in front of an audience.
It turns out that this regular schedule works against him though when a group of radicals who have not let the change in times change them decide to kidnap him for ransom. The revelation of their goals may put Koo in danger he can’t get out of when they seem to ask the impossible in return for Koo’s release but worse yet, one of the members of the group may have an even more sinister motive behind the suggestion to snatch Koo.
The group behind Koo’s abduction- The People’s Revolutionary Army- are hoping to use Koo’s status as not only a well known entertainer but also someone who has made no small number of political and military connections over the years, in part due to his USO involvement, to force the government to give in to their demands and release some former radical leaders now in prison. They know that the government has an official policy against negotiating with hostage takers but they hope Koo’s celebrity status will force the government to bend when they take their cause to the media through the release of some audio tapes of their demands.
As the clock ticks for the 24 hour window before the case officially becomes property of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, they send the highest ranking field agent in the area, Mike Wiskiel, to coordinate with the local police. Fortunately Agent Wiskiel has enough people skills and diplomatic tact to not clash with the police officer in charge which helps lead to a combined effort from the beginning. Agent Wiskiel has his own personal issues however as he is only in Los Angeles as he had a minor role in Watergate and was demoted, though his role was still big enough that his name is known in certain quarters. As he goes about the case he carries with him the hope that breaking it will be his ticket back to Washington DC, but will this desire spell hope or be a harbinger for Koo as Wiskiel’s agenda may cause him to take a few risks that may place the comedian in greater danger?
With a deadline looming Koo may attempt to make some steps in freeing himself by using his wit and ability to read his audience, but will he discover that when he has time to think he is his worst enemy as all that he has been running from his whole life finally has a chance to catch up to him? Will the realization of where he stands as a man and how he has alienated so many during his life break his spirit when he is forced to think of just who might come to his aid in his hour of need and when he needs the energy that hope will provide his aged frame?
Koo isn’t alone in his struggles with his inner demons either as the five people who took him hostage are having their own problems. The hidden agenda of one of their own is adding more pressure to the group as a whole-a group that already looks like they are fracturing early on as the process of kidnapping takes a completely different type of mental preparation than anything they have ever done before. As they begin to show signs of the stress that this new endeavor is placing on them will their leader be able to keep things together long enough for Koo to see freedom or will the various goals everyone has mean the end of the aging comic? With so many different motivations and short comings set to clash, the story is one that is barreling down the road to tragedy with only the question of who is going to survive when the events come to a head.
In some ways the path this novel took from typewriter to being published is almost a suspense story in and of itself. As told in the foreword, Westlake had written the tale in the early 80s but abandoned it when Martin Scorsese released The King of Comedy, even though the two titles have little in common beyond a comedian being kidnapped and held ransom. The only reason the book still exists is that he sent a copy of his work to fellow author Max Allan Collin who had packed the script away in his attic and happened to remember he still had it when talking with the publisher.
As if to make up for the lost decades the book spends almost no time launching the reader into the world it creates. The first (rather short) chapter introduces the audience to the character who will be the focal point of events, Koo Davis, as he is warming up his studio audience before he show is scheduled to shoot rather than leaving it someone else to get them prepared. As he gives his routine to them he flashes back to the events of his life that brought him here including the decisions he made to get political which has left him in the spot he is now rather than possible in a much bigger spotlight. Koo gets very little time to reminisce though as once he leaves the stage to go to his dressing room and prepare for the show he is immediately ambushed.
From here events take place at a breakneck pace as the kidnappers know they must act with haste to keep one step ahead of the lawmen who will be chasing them and the lawmen know time is not on their side as kidnappers rarely keep their victims for very long before killing them and moving on. As the two sides try to work against each other to obtain their ends, Koo is locked in a room where he alternates between being stuck looking at his life’s mistakes and having to deal with the eccentricities of his captors and what they want out of him.
This section of the book where Koo has to face both his internal and external accusers is probably my favorite part of the story, and it may be one of my favorite parts of any story I have seen or read in quite some time. The absolute brutal honesty with which Koo examines himself is rather breathtaking, especially once he starts to examine the family he abandoned. Koo is a man who needs for there to be laughter and distractions aplenty as he is not stupid by any means and when left alone he turns the insight that made him famous onto himself with painful consequences.
Westlake isn’t content to just give his audience the scenes of Koo himself as he also will be confronting his kidnappers at different intervals, each of whom seem to want something from him- be it acknowledgement, forgiveness or just his shock but one of the group wants far more- that member has their own reasons for wanting Koo’s life- reasons that echo far back to sins of the past. As the minutes tick by the group of kidnappers will also have to face themselves in some ways they haven’t previously and the strain of this new undertaking may just be too much for them to handle.
About the only character here who gets a short straw is Mike Wiskiel as he never feels firmly developed. We get part of his back story in that he had something to do with Watergate (at least on the low end of the spectrum) and that his LA assignment is punishment but he often seems a shadow caricature compared to the rich depth of some of the other characters. It almost feels like he needed to be there because the FBI would be involved and as another key tying recent (when written) events together but he just gets less growth than anyone of the other main characters, and his key moment in solving a riddle feels just a bit forced.
In Summary:
Despite a few issues including a somewhat two dimensional character and a bit of disconnect with the writing style at times due to the change that decades have had on the field of novels the book comes through with shining colors. The novel examines the motives of a broad range of people who are all trying to live their lives in different fashion- either in trying to rewrite the present, recapture past glory or just stay one step ahead of their worst fears- having to face up to their own past and mortality. In this the book moves forward with tremendous success as it uses human emotion and the pressure of a counting down clock to build up the tension of events as the various characters race to try to accomplish their goals before the sand runs out and the curtain falls on their personal stages. The book is chock full of powerful emotional realizations as well as some frenetic action and is one that will leave the reader speeding through in the despite need to see what brilliance Westlake delivers next as he raises the stakes that the characters are playing for. Recommended.
Grade: A-
