A Real Knockout
Who would have thought that something as simple as a
blood test would knock me so much for a loop? My
doctor set me up to have some blood tests done and,
15 phials of the red stuff later, I was a sagging bag
of pooh. For the entire day. I fell asleep in a
meeting, fell asleep at my desk and had to cancel a
golf date for the evening. Amazing.
I'm better now, thank goodness, and ready to turn my attention to the cover letter for my novel submission to a publisher. With the draft synopsis fermenting in my brain (and on the hard drive of my trusty net book), I have to compose a friendly, one-page invitation to convince someone that my work is worth publishing and will, in fact, sell. This might be as tough a task as the synopsis. But, if Phillip Gold is ever going to see the public light of day, I have to do this and do it effectively.
The blood-test-induced lethargy did, on the other hand, put me in a nice position to spend some more time with Dick Francis. I'm now reading Proof, a novel from the mid-1980s, that seems to me to mark the beginning of a new stage in Francis' writing. Proof is a much more philosophical novel with a main character, wine-merchant Tony Beach, who is still dealing with the recent death of his beloved wife and, on a perhaps deeper level, with his long-term feelings of failure and inadequacy. He is, perhaps, the deepest, most complex of the protagonists to this point in Francis' library.
Further, this book explores masculine friendship much more than it does male-female romance, as Beach experiences the birth of relationships with three male characters: a sharp but friendly corporate sleuth, a crusty police inspector and his crafty and determined Chief Inspector. In fact, for the first time in a Francis novel, there is no blossoming male-female romance in this one.
Francis also makes much better use of suspense in this book: early on, a minor character is murdered in an extremely grotesque way; this forms a terrifying backdrop for all of the confrontations between Beach and the villain, as the timid wine merchant sweats through the thought of being similarly treated. It's quietly effective and very interesting.
I note as well that the back cover of the book features a quote from Kingsley Amis, the noted English author, rather than a series of slogans gleaned from the popular press. As Proof hit the market, Francis was finally being taken seriously not just as a mystery writer but as a capital "A" Author, respected, admired, and the Amis quote is clear evidence of his ascension.
I'm very much enjoying Proof. And I'm impressed with the continued development of Dick Francis as a writer that it represents.
I'm better now, thank goodness, and ready to turn my attention to the cover letter for my novel submission to a publisher. With the draft synopsis fermenting in my brain (and on the hard drive of my trusty net book), I have to compose a friendly, one-page invitation to convince someone that my work is worth publishing and will, in fact, sell. This might be as tough a task as the synopsis. But, if Phillip Gold is ever going to see the public light of day, I have to do this and do it effectively.
The blood-test-induced lethargy did, on the other hand, put me in a nice position to spend some more time with Dick Francis. I'm now reading Proof, a novel from the mid-1980s, that seems to me to mark the beginning of a new stage in Francis' writing. Proof is a much more philosophical novel with a main character, wine-merchant Tony Beach, who is still dealing with the recent death of his beloved wife and, on a perhaps deeper level, with his long-term feelings of failure and inadequacy. He is, perhaps, the deepest, most complex of the protagonists to this point in Francis' library.
Further, this book explores masculine friendship much more than it does male-female romance, as Beach experiences the birth of relationships with three male characters: a sharp but friendly corporate sleuth, a crusty police inspector and his crafty and determined Chief Inspector. In fact, for the first time in a Francis novel, there is no blossoming male-female romance in this one.
Francis also makes much better use of suspense in this book: early on, a minor character is murdered in an extremely grotesque way; this forms a terrifying backdrop for all of the confrontations between Beach and the villain, as the timid wine merchant sweats through the thought of being similarly treated. It's quietly effective and very interesting.
I note as well that the back cover of the book features a quote from Kingsley Amis, the noted English author, rather than a series of slogans gleaned from the popular press. As Proof hit the market, Francis was finally being taken seriously not just as a mystery writer but as a capital "A" Author, respected, admired, and the Amis quote is clear evidence of his ascension.
I'm very much enjoying Proof. And I'm impressed with the continued development of Dick Francis as a writer that it represents.