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It seems as if Donald Westlake has always been with us. When one has a career that has straddled six decades, one tends to leave that sort of impression. Westlake also seemed to have burst on the scene as a grandmaster; looking at his early work, one is struck by the richness of its voice, even as he was still finding and developing it. While he has built his career on smartly written, lighter crime fiction, one must not forget that he has a dark side that is not limited to his regular offerings under his Richard Stark pseudonym. This is by no means a recent development; it is easy to forget that some of Westlake's early work was extremely dark and foreboding.
Westlake's 361, an early example of his grim and gritty side, has been reissued by the rapidly-becoming-indispensable Hard Case Crime imprint. That any of Westlake's work should be out of print is an unpardonable omission, and to see this grim book --- originally published in 1962 --- back on the rack after an absence of too many years is a welcome occurrence, indeed.
It begins with young Ray Kelly, fresh out of a stint with the Air Force, being picked up by his father for a reunion of sorts. The reunion is cut short when Kelly's father is murdered in front of him. Kelly, himself grievously injured, begins an obsessive hunt for the men who killed his father and changed his life forever. Aided by his brother Bill, Kelly begins a tortuous journey through their father's past, a past that is littered with deceit and disappointment. The subtle focus here, however, is the transformation of Kelly from a peacetime Air Force veteran who is eager and excited with life's prospects to a violent and ruthless killer who knows no limits in his pursuit of revenge.
Westlake's developing mastery of dialogue is on display here. While his reach exceeds his grasp at times, it is instructive to watch Westlake's talent unfolding, in many ways for the first time, on the pages of 361. One also finds here that Westlake, then as now, is a keen observer of the culture and mores of the surroundings --- to wit, New York and its upstate suburbs --- that have served as a rich and ready backdrop for his novels.
While an early work of Westlake's, 361 is not a deficient one, but rather an unacknowledged minor classic that hopefully will be accorded its proper recognition. Recommended.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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