Cost of Honor

Nat Harbin is a master burglar and an honorable man by his estimation, at least when it comes to his small family of thieves, and especially to his young female charge Gladden. Harbin and his crew, Baylock, Dohmer, and Gladden, live together in a small apartment in a seamier section of Philadelphia. Each has a specific skill: Harbin the burglar; Baylock the loot evaluator, fence contact, and lookout; Dohmer the lookout and muscle; and Gladden the scout. Gladden holds a special place for Harbin because her father took Harbin in when he was a casted out boy and taught him the trade. When Gladden’s father died on a job, Harbin promised himself he would always take care of the daughter, regarding it as a debt and the honorable thing to do.

The novel opens with the group in the act of stealing emeralds from a mansion on the Main Line. Two cops on patrol spot their getaway car parked on the street. Harbin stops his work on the house safe and bamboozles the cops with a story about breaking down. They buy it and Harbin and the crew finish the job. Unknown to them, however, is that one of the cops is dirty and has his own illicit operation of stealing from thieves. Charley, the cop, doesn’t directly confront Harbin. Rather, he employs an elaborate ruse using his girlfriend Della to lure Harbin away from his family and grab the jewels. That doesn’t work because Della falls for Harbin. Harbin has been mulling over leaving the crew and falling for Della seals the deal. But has hard as he tries to leave, he can’t break his ties to Gladden. After lots of machinations involving kicking Gladden out, then following her to Atlantic City, where Charley has snared her in a honey trap, then going to Atlantic City to retrieve her, getting in a shootout with cops, and more, Charley and Harbin face-off on an Atlantic City beach, Gladden kills Charley to save Harbin, and the pair swim out into the ocean to elude capture, where both drown.

Before the fatal face-off with Charley, Harbin and Gladden have a heart to heart. Gladden tells him that she loves him, always has. Harbin, older than her, can’t return the love in the way Gladden desires. To him, she his little sister, or he her father. It’s this dilemma that leads Harbin to sacrifice himself in the end by diving deep in the ocean to save Gladden, though he could have easily left her and survived.

David Goodis was popular in his day. He also worked in Hollywood writing scripts. When Hollywood filmed The Burglar, he wrote the screenplay, the only full screenwriting credit he received in his career. The story underwent a good deal of alteration for the screen, particularly the ending. Modern readers will probably find much of the novel a bit of a stretch, but not the commitment of Harbin to Gladden, her yearning for him, and his struggle to fulfill his oath and preserve his personal honor. ( )

Cost of Honor

Nat Harbin is a master burglar and an honorable man by his estimation, at least when it comes to his small family of thieves, and especially to his young female charge Gladden. Harbin and his crew, Baylock, Dohmer, and Gladden, live together in a small apartment in a seamier section of Philadelphia. Each has a specific skill: Harbin the burglar; Baylock the loot evaluator, fence contact, and lookout; Dohmer the lookout and muscle; and Gladden the scout. Gladden holds a special place for Harbin because her father took Harbin in when he was a casted out boy and taught him the trade. When Gladden’s father died on a job, Harbin promised himself he would always take care of the daughter, regarding it as a debt and the honorable thing to do.

The novel opens with the group in the act of stealing emeralds from a mansion on the Main Line. Two cops on patrol spot their getaway car parked on the street. Harbin stops his work on the house safe and bamboozles the cops with a story about breaking down. They buy it and Harbin and the crew finish the job. Unknown to them, however, is that one of the cops is dirty and has his own illicit operation of stealing from thieves. Charley, the cop, doesn’t directly confront Harbin. Rather, he employs an elaborate ruse using his girlfriend Della to lure Harbin away from his family and grab the jewels. That doesn’t work because Della falls for Harbin. Harbin has been mulling over leaving the crew and falling for Della seals the deal. But has hard as he tries to leave, he can’t break his ties to Gladden. After lots of machinations involving kicking Gladden out, then following her to Atlantic City, where Charley has snared her in a honey trap, then going to Atlantic City to retrieve her, getting in a shootout with cops, and more, Charley and Harbin face-off on an Atlantic City beach, Gladden kills Charley to save Harbin, and the pair swim out into the ocean to elude capture, where both drown.

Before the fatal face-off with Charley, Harbin and Gladden have a heart to heart. Gladden tells him that she loves him, always has. Harbin, older than her, can’t return the love in the way Gladden desires. To him, she his little sister, or he her father. It’s this dilemma that leads Harbin to sacrifice himself in the end by diving deep in the ocean to save Gladden, though he could have easily left her and survived.

David Goodis was popular in his day. He also worked in Hollywood writing scripts. When Hollywood filmed The Burglar, he wrote the screenplay, the only full screenwriting credit he received in his career. The story underwent a good deal of alteration for the screen, particularly the ending. Modern readers will probably find much of the novel a bit of a stretch, but not the commitment of Harbin to Gladden, her yearning for him, and his struggle to fulfill his oath and preserve his personal honor. ( )

I think this is his best novel. ( )

Old-fashioned Chandleresque story from a robber's perspective. But this thief is different.

Good, quick read! ( )

Immensely bleak and often tedious, this isn't one of Goodis's best works. Some of the writing is pretty maudlin, and while there is a lot of time for the characters to interact, the interactions aren't nearly as interesting as in his better books. In those books, the gloom flows more freely and seems natural. Here, it seems a bit contrived. ( )