Get Real

I'd never read any of the late Donald Westlake's Dortmunder books before the libraries' Just Desserts mystery discussion group selected Get Real for a recent monthly discussion. I loved it! What appeared, on the surface, to be an extremely spare writing style and simplistic descriptions actually turns out to be wholly appropriate for this cast of characters. Dortmunder is the "brains" behind a gang of thieves, whose capers inevitably run into serious difficulties. In Get Real, Dortmunder and his gang are hired to portray fictionalized versions of themselves in a reality tv series, in which they will be robbing a building owned by the series' production company. When Dortmunder and his cronies realize that there's hidden wealth in the show more building, they plot to really rob the building while at the same time "fake" robbing the building for the TV show. Sound complicated? It is, and, as usual, things go wrong in surprising ways. The only thing disappointing about this book was the fact that it ended. Guess I'll have to go back to 1972's The Hot Rock and read the Dortmunder books from the beginning.

Originally reviewed for my local library's website: http://www.lincolnlibraries.org/depts/bookguide/srec/staffrec09-11.htm show less

When a favorite author passes on to that great library in the sky, there is a profound sadness for the loyal fans. But when the author leaves a work behind, written before he died, published posthumously, it can bring true joy to a fan's heart (in this case, two fans, as javaczuk and I listened to it on a recent road trip. This particular voice actor (WilliamDufris) was amazing. We could hardly believe how many character voices he created. And the story? Dortmunder to the end. Westlake had a talent for making the ridiculous plausible, and Get Real is real Dortmunder to the last word.

"Get Real" is a clever and comic crime novel of a kind in which author Donald Westfall specializes. A television producer contracts with John Dortmunder and his gang of thieves to stage a robbery for the sake of a reality TV show. The idea is that the gang will be filmed for the TV show while robbing a building owned by the series' production company. Dortmunder and his pals figure out that there actually is wealth hidden in the building, and plot to act out the fake robbery while engaging in a real one. The result is pretty funny, and makes for quite an amusing work of fiction. I really must seek out more of Westfall's comic novels!

The last Dortmunder novel is fun reading, though not among the best (see Why Me). In this caper, the gang gets involved with some TV producers who want to do a reality tv show about them planning and carrying off a heist. The tension between the tv types and thieves is fun, as is the way the gang gets seduced by TV. A few laughs, and they will be sorely missed, but as I say not among the best.

Dortmunder and company going after their next score, as a reality tv show? It's an interesting idea, but, for me, it didn't work. This was my least favorite book in this series so far. It often didn't even make sense to me. And it's a bummer, because this might be the first Dortmunder book in which they didn't have any bad luck. Maybe the plot was the bad luck! Sucks that this was the last one...

Dortmunder and the boys are to appear in a reality television program as themselves, pulling off a heist and trying to make sure there isn't a catch. In this audiobook the narrator, William Dufris, did an excellent job of portraying the characters, their personalities and accents. Entertaining and humourous, in fact, laugh-out-loud funny in some places.

The last of Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novels does not disappoint. The gang's all here, but now they're sucked into reality TV, which turns out to be anything but real. As usual, the plot gets complicated, but Dortmunder comes up with a brilliant ploy designed to let the guys get even more money from a heist.

But the beauty of the Dortmunder novels is only partly in the plot. The dialog, the gatherings at the OJ Bar, the set-ups and pay-offs are what make this series so funny.

Highly recommend.