The Hot Rock

John Dortmunder has to steal a rock six times. Or rather, the rock sets of a chain of six heists all geared towards securing said rock. There are complications, so many complications that it's easy to miss what a a miracle of clear, uncluttered efficient story-telling a book with six heists in it is, while at the same time being a minor comic masterpiece, most of it character-driven with its collection of lovable prosaic lowlives hatching schemes and executing complex plans that invariably go wrong, or don;t go wrong but still leave them empty-handed. Robert Redford played Dortmunder in the adaptation and it's such a weird piece of miscasting, but if you've only read this, the first in the series, before you've become truly familiar show more with the drab, downcast, put-upon little mastermind, then it isn't quite such a bad fit. show less

This novel is legit hilarious. I was wary, considering my luck with 70s-era crime novels (and what passed for humor back then), but I had to stifle guffaws several times while reading this. It is a beautiful mixture of a heist caper and total farce.

The characters certainly had a lot to do with that. Dortmunder is the planner of the group - he conceives the plans for how to pull the heists and puts them into action. Kelp is the Mr. TMI sidekick, always wanting to go off on a tangent at the worst moment. Murch is the getaway driver, a young man still living with is mother who is obsessed with cars, to the point of buying sound recordings of races just to analyze the noises. The lockbreaker is Chefwick, a congenial model train enthusiast show more who is the best lockman in the game. (Chefwick reminded me of Pops from Regular Show, which made him even more delightfully hilarious. The heavy of the group is Greenwood, a jack-of-all-trades who is a ladykiller in his spare time.

These five come together to steal the Balabomo Emerald from one small African nation at the behest of a neighboring small African nation. Their contact with the hopeful receiving country is Major Patrick Iko, referred to as Major. He trusts Dortmunder to do the job, though he feels a bit dubious about the others, and hires them for what they all think will be a six-week job. The emerald is on display under heavy guard at the NY Coliseum, but it will be traveling on display soon, and Dortmunder wonders whether it would be easier to nab it in the museum or when it begins its cross-country journey.

The funny part is that Dortmunder's plans are perfect, ingenious, and more or less well-executed. A blunder during the first attempt leads to the second, and circumstances beyond their control lead to the third, then the fourth, and finally the fifth. Dortmunder is growing increasingly frustrated, and wants to give up after 3 attempts, but his fellow criminals wheedle and cajole him into staying, and the Major ups his price, and they keep trying. They literally use planes, trains, and automobiles in pursuit of this emerald. (I nearly fell out of my chair with laughter when Pops Chefwick lives his lifelong dream of driving a Tom Thumb locomotive during one of the capers.)

The Major tries to pull a double-cross when Dortmunder's team finally delivers the emerald, but none of them are going to stand for that, so they make one last heist...and the ending is sweet, sweet revenge.

This was absolutely excellent, and I'm looking forward to reading more of Dortmunder's adventures (hopefully with this same team!). show less

My first Westbrook and the first book in his Dortmunder Series is an imaginative and fun read. The idea came first of an emerald that won’t stay stolen, then Dortmunder was created to live it out. Love heist scenarios pulled off by smart people and the structure of this allows for several well-crafted heists. The central question of why would they keep trying after repeated bouts of bad luck was handled with deft character work and humor. If this were ignored or glossed over with a “because it’s there” trope, I would have become irritated and either quit reading or finished the book with a chip on my shoulder and a grudge. Truly funny, the humor does not detract from the action. Actually adds to the momentum of the goings on show more which builds heist upon heist until a nice twisty conclusion. The gimmick of having to steal the same emerald again and again never feels like a gimmick. Each time their situation falls apart, it’s funny and a surprise. Liked this enough to leap right into another Westlake GOD SAVE THE MARK—a stand alone non-series entry that had it’s own gimmick I felt was a little forced. Still good but it made me appreciate THE HOT ROCK even more. show less

The Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake is the first book that features John Dortmunder the thief whose capers never quite come off as planned. In this one he and his friends have been hired by a diplomat from one African nation to steal a huge emerald currently on display in the United States from a different African Nation. What follows is a series of heists as the emerald comes in and out of their hands.

Although Dortmunder has the brains and a talent for thievery luck seems to always go against him and in this instance he and his gang find themselves having to acquire the emerald numerous times as well as orchestrate an escape from prison and a kidnapping from a mental hospital. The book is full of setbacks, betrayals and just plain bad show more luck but it is also full of humor and characters that are fun to read about.

In Hot Rock the author creates a series of hilarious but mostly believable situations that Dortmunder must navigate and we, the readers, are awarded with a light and very enjoyable read. show less

I think I saw this movie about a million years ago. I liked it then. The book? Quite frankly, even better!! This was unexpected. The book, in the Nook edition anyway, only runs 154 pages. But the writing is absolutely superb. It's taut, it has a ton of great detail, it's funny and it's a damn good heist story.

A group of professional criminals is hired by an African Major in a nation torn apart by civil war, to steal an emerald which is spiritually and religiously important to both sides. The group assembles and creates a plan to get the rock. Think Ocean's Eleven type of thing here.

What follows is a series of problems. One caper, turns into six capers because each time they get that hot rock, something happens in which the success of show more the heist is foiled. Each time, they have to go back to the Major to secure more funding and more resources in order to pull off the job.

Twists and turns right to the last page and not one minute of dull reading. It is really difficult to write like this. It's a real art form to cram so much into a relatively short story. There is not a wasted word in this little gem of a book. And, as an added bonus, it's pretty inexpensive as an ebook. It was a great read. Loved it! show less

Stage an elaborate robbery for a cause that has a smidgeon of virtue about it. But, oops, someone got there first. So gather your gang in the backroom of a friendly bar and plan another robbery more elaborate than the first, and then another until something works. That is the gimmick in The Hot Rock by Donald E. Westlake. The novel, which turns 53 this year, is an iconic caper story. Its gang of would-be burglars includes a cab driver who brags that he can drive anything, an optimistic con man and pool shark, and a cracksman who knows when a clock can be picked and when something more explosive is needed. The gang is led by John Dortmunder, a hard-bitten ex-con. There is some unintended nostalgia--phone booths and door-to-door salesmen, show more for example. But it still elicited quite a few chortles.
It was adapted to the screen by William Goldman of Princess Bride fame, but it was not as much fun as it should have been. Robert Redford was badly miscast as Dortmunder, who should have been played by a more deadpan actor. show less

I love heists. I've got Leverage on more or less infinite repeat, I'll watch any heist movie on TV, and "pull off an excellent heist" is on my bucket list. That said, The Hot Rock is a genre classic, but I thought it was only an okay book. If I had a physical copy, I'd probably leave it on the plane or in the beachside cabana because re-shelving it would just be more effort than its worth.

Master theif Dortmunder has just gotten out of Sing Sing when he gets hired to steal a priceless emerald for a small African nation. He assembles a perfect team (drive, locksmith, hitter...), a perfect plan, and of course everything goes to pieces and Dortmunder has to keep stealing the gem from ever escalating situations. There's a lot of fun to be show more had, but the writing isn't quite hardboiled enough to be hardboiled, pulpy enough to be pulp, or heart-pounding enough to be a thriller. show less