The Magnificent MacDonald
Written: Jul 13 '00 (Updated Jul 16 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Superior characterization skills. Intricate fast moving plots that make you think.
Cons: Since his death, the well is regretfully dry. .
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| happy2000usa's Full Review: MacDonald, John D |
Author’s Note: This article is part of a Epinion author’s “writeoff” to celebrate Markham Shaw Pyle’s Birthday. The topic is our favorite author, best described in my case as the author who has exerted the greatest influence over my work. The other participants are: Arazim, buffoonery, caconti, caravan70, conradd, Counsel, CurtisEdmonds, emlin, endora60, ErgoPropterHoc, erik_kosberg, expono, forkids, gracef, Grouch, jasonkirk, jrk, JMB623, kcfoxy, kchowell, kimmiko, Lambira, Leah, kurt_messick, mgreber, mshawpyle, stonehousellc, stract, sweeper, sweetpaulie, and TomGray. Please take a moment and read their thoughts on the subject. The complete list of the participating Epinions Authors and their favorites can be found at: http://www.epinions.com/book-Member_Write_Offs-Favorite_Author Happy Birthday, Markham!
In the late sixties, my unit and I were pulled back from the Laotian border and reassigned to a small town in the South Vietnamese highlands. It was a beautiful place, rife with fresh fruits and vegetables, something we had not tasted for quite some time. I found myself living in an old French villa. Our host was an American government official who would tell us neither how long he had lived there nor for what part of the government he worked. I assumed that he was a man of power. He had a refrigerator. He also had a great deal of food that was normally reserved for senior officers, such a steak and lobster.
He was not a high government official. He was just a good “trader.” His answer to our James Bond jokes was that one did not shake or stir martinis. You uncapped a bottle of Beefeaters, filled the air gap with vermouth, recapped the bottle and stuck it in the freezer. He could consume great amounts of the syrupy results and still retain some semblance of coherence. I could not and opted to observe rather than participate. It was during one of his sampling sessions that he let down his guard and led me to his secret treasure trove, his library. It seems that while we "unenlightened" mortals pined for boxes of cookies from home, his passion was books. His family sent them by the case.
His “library” didn’t begin to fill the shelves left bare by the previous French plantation owner. It would not compete with even the most basic rural public library. Although the number of titles might rival a small “bookmobile,” it was still a find. I had read nothing for months that did not have some government classification on it. Drooling, I became oblivious of my surroundings. I ravenously searched the titles for something to read first. My friend stopped me and took me to his sacred shelf. It was filled with books by an author who had escaped my attention, John D. MacDonald. My friend recommended a title and I took it off to the porch to read. That was the beginning of a lifetime passion.
Pulp Fiction
We are all familiar with the term. Some use it to apply to the old westerns. Others think of the “hard boiled” detective stories. To some, it’s mystery novels. To others, it’s romance. Whatever genre meets your definition, it is always the quick read, the paperback purchased to while the time of day. It can be humorous or sad. It can be exciting or emotional. Above all, it must be entertaining.
On the surface, John D. MacDonald falls into this broad category. As witnessed by the appended partial list of his work, he was a prolific writer. Many have criticized the speed with which he produced his works. They say that like any true pulp fiction author, he made up for low royalties by bombarding the reading public with his work. I strongly disagree. He was fast, but that did not detract from the quality. Once one pierces the veil of his fast moving story lines, you find his work full of homespun philosophy and wonderfully written prose. He was an author who not only immersed himself in his work, but also loved every minute of his labor. It shows in his writing. The large number of books he published in the sixties and seventies is deceptive. As his popularity grew during that period, many of the publishing houses were picking up his previously unpublished works or reprinting those that had not originally enjoyed the success of his later books.
The Birth of the Master
John D. MacDonald finally broke unto the literary scene in the fifties. As with all authors, he evolved. Beginning with “pulp fiction,” he transitioned to the Travis McGee series. In his latter years, he reached his “novelist” stage with such works as Condominium, One More Sunday, Freefall in Crimson and Cape Fear. (Cape fear was actually a revision of an earlier work, the Executioners.) They were far evolved from The Brass Cupcake that he published in 1950.
It is very difficult to refine his genre to something more than just “fiction.” Some of his books are classified as mysteries. He won a prestigious National Mystery Writers award in 1981 for the Green Ripper. Other works, such as Condominium, might fall under the “mainstream fiction” genre. Some of his books are whimsical. “The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything” is one of the most humorous books that I have ever read. Amazon classifies this title as science fiction.
Many of his books are political and social commentaries. He frequently takes aim at the Florida Real Estate Industry, writing about projects built on land that most certainly won’t withstand a hurricane. They developers bribe local officials, construct the units with substandard materials, and sell them to unsuspecting retirees from the north. It’s a powerful condemnation. He also takes on organized religion and Hollywood in other works. This is uncommon fare for a “pulp fiction” writer and is but one strong argument against including him in this category.
Travis McGee
The Travis McGee series was the showcase of MacDonald’s talents. This is where you get a true whiff of his writing formulae. He takes a handful of characters, always flawed, and stirs them into his beloved Florida panoramas. He seasons the mix with his love of boats and the marina lifestyle. MacDonald adds pinches of intrigue and romance, seasoned to taste, and then bakes in the hot oven of conflict until the concoction boils over. He always singes the reader with a surprise finish. He evokes the whole gamut of emotions: sorrow, surprise, anger, excitement, and happiness. Very few authors that I’ve read can do that to me.
MacDonald is somewhat of a cult hero to the denizens of his beloved Florida. He shuns metropolitan Dade County and other large cities to set his stages in the rural backwater towns. He carries his vivid description of Florida scenery to his titles, usually including his trademark color, such as “A Tan and Sandy Silence.” His characters are fishermen and small businessmen who readers might well recognize as their neighbors. They are common people with common problems. They are essential to each book because the villains are large corporations and real estate magnates, using their riches to make the common man poor.
To me, MacDonald’s greatest strength is these “flawed” characters. They are real and recognizable. Even his heroes have faults. Travis McGee himself is a professed “beach bum” who prides himself on “taking his retirement in installments.” He spends his days fishing and swimming, working only when the money runs out. An eccentric, he drives a Rolls Royce that was converted to a pickup truck and lives aboard a houseboat that he won in a poker game. When he must work, he claims to be a “salvage” expert. This is not marine salvage. He recovers money, property, and other valuables for swindled victims who have no legal recourse to redress the wrongful acts. He is a powerful but sad man, a master of the unrequited love. Frequently, he enters the fray understanding that he has no chance of compensation or complete success. Had Don Quixote lived in Florida, his name would have been Travis McGee.
His best friend, Meyer, is a world stature economist who lives on a nearby boat. The “forever sad” Meyer plays the Doctor Watson to McGhee’s Holmes, but is far more vulnerable to the plots than Doyle’s doctor. Although worthless in all things physical, he is McGhee’s mentor and advisor. He is essential to the series as MacDonald uses him to introduce intricate financial and real estate schemes into the plot. It would not be appropriate that McGhee’s character should understand such things. Meyer, the economist, explains them to him. He helps McGee plan his revenge. At the end of each book, he is always there to pick up the hero's broken pieces and put him back together again.
It is these very schemes, both on the part of the villains and on the part of Travis McGee, that thicken MacDonald’s plots from a “light read” to something more serious. I do not imply that they are so complicated as to make you put down the book in utter confusion. Au contraire. They make you think. They make you analyze. They immerse you into the plot. I have never read a MacDonald novel without having a look at the dictionary. That is the mark of a master linguist, not “pulp fiction” writer.
Throughout his books, MacDonald weaves vivid pictures of his beloved Florida. You find yourself immersed in life as it exists in the Florida backwater. You’ll taste the salty spray and feel the mosquito bites. You’ll marvel at the fiery sunsets while being cooled by the evening breeze. Once you've read MacDonald, you feel like a Florida native, whether you’ve ever been there or not. Such is the power of MacDonald and it has given rise to a “cult” readership. When one adds the immense power of his characterization skills, you can see why I try to emulate him. I, like other who have made the attempt, I’ve fallen well short of the mark.
The End
John Dann MacDonald passed away in 1986. It was a sad moment for me. It was the end of decades of enjoyment. For a few years after his death, publishers scurried to put his work into reprints. It didn’t salve my sorrow. I’d read everything before. It took me back to the sadness of Vietnam when my unit was ordered to leave our friend's mountain retreat. It was months before I could resume my reading and devour the MacDonald books left unread in the "library."
If you have read my mentor, you understand my emotions. If you are new to MacDonald, might I suggest that you start with books from the appended list that have been published several times. They were his best. Better yet, I recommend the compendium book entitled “Five Complete Travis McGee Novels.” This book includes some of his best work, including the Green Ripper.
My friends, I give you fair warning. Once you start a John D. MacDonald book, you’ll be unable to put it down. When you finish it, you’ll be consumed with disappointment that the experience has ended. Your next read will be the yellow pages to find telephone numbers for the local bookstores, or an online purveyor of books. Where MacDonald is concerned, you can never get enough. You’ll be searching for more.
A Partial List of Books by John Dann MacDonald (1916-1986)
Cape Fear (London: Bloomsbury, 1997)
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (G.K. Hall, 1984, c1968.)
A purple place for dying (G.K. Hall, 1984, c1964)
Barrier Island (G.K. Hall, 1987, c1986) (Knopf, Distributed by Random House, 1986)
The Brass Cupcake (Fawcett Publications Inc., 1950)
Bright Orange for the Shroud (Lippincott [1972, c1965) (London, Hale, 1967) (G.K. Hall, 1985, c1965)
Cinnamon Skin (G.K. Hall, 1983, c1982)
Cinnamon Skin: the Twentieth Adventure of Travis McGee (Harper & Row, c1982)
Condominium (Lippincott, c1977.)
Darker Than Amber (Travis McGee) (Lippincott, 1970 c1966) (G.K. Hall, 1988, c1966.)
Dead Low Tide (Garland Pub., 1983, c1953)
A Deadly Shade of Gold (Lippincott 1974, c1965) (G.K. Hall, 1987, c1965)
The Deceivers (London, Hale, 1968.)
The Deep Blue Good-by (G.K. Hall, 1984, c1964.) (Lippincott, 1975, c1964)
The Dreadful Lemon Sky (Lippincott, 1975 c1974) (G. K. Hall, 1975, c1974)
Dress Her in Indigo (Lippincott, 1971 c1969) (Fawcett Publications, 1969) (G.K. Hall, 1985, c1969)
The empty copper sea (G. K. Hall, 1979, c1978) (Lippincott, c1978.)
End of the Tiger, and other stories (London, Hale, 1967)
The Executioners (Simon and Schuster, c1958.)
Five Complete Travis McGee Novels (Avenel Books: Distributed by Outlet Book Co., 1991) (Avenel Books: Distributed by Crown Publishers, 1985)
Free Fall in Crimson (G.K. Hall, 1981) (Harper & Row, c1981)
The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (Lippincott, 1973 c1968)
The Good Old Stuff: 13 early stories by John D. MacDonald, edited by Martin H. Greenberg ... [et al.] (Harper & Row, c1982)
The Green Ripper (G. K. Hall, 1980) (Lippincott, c1979.)
The House (London, Hale, 1966)
The House Guests (Doubleday, 1965)
John D. MacDonald, Five Travis McGee Novels (Longmeadow Press, 1985)
A Key to the Suite (Mysterious Press, 1989 printing c1962)
The Last One Left (London, Hale, 1968) (Doubleday, 1967)
The Lonely Silver Rain (Thorndike Press, 1985) (A.A. Knopf: Distributed by Random House, c1985)
The Long Lavender Look (Lippincott, 1972 c1970) (G.K. Hall, 1986, c1970)
More Good Old Stuff (G.K. Hall, 1985, c1984) (Knopf, 1984)
Murder in the Wind (Dell, 1956)
Nightmare in Pink (G. K. Hall, 1976, c1964) (Lippincott, 1976, c1964)
No Deadly Drug (Doubleday, 1968)
One Fearful Yellow Eye (G.K. Hall, 1983, c1966) (Lippincott, 1977, c1966)
One More Sunday (Knopf: Distributed by Random House, 1984) (Thorndike Press, 1984)
Pale Gray for Guilt (Lippincott, 1971, c1968) (Fawcett Publications, 1968) (G.K. Hall, 1986, c1968)
The Price of Murder (Dell, c1957)
A Purple Place for Dying (Lippincott, 1976, c1964)
The Quick Red Fox (G.K. Hall, 1982, c1964) (Lippincott, 1974, c1964) (Fawcett Publications, 1964)
Reading for Survival (Washington: Library of Congress, 1987)
The Scarlet Ruse (Lippincott & Crowell, 1980, c1973) (G. K. Hall, 1980, c1973)
Seven (Fawcett Publications, 1971)
Slam the Big Door (Thorndike Press, 1987, c1960) (Mysterious Press, 1987, c1960)
A Tan and Sandy Silence (Fawcett Publications, 1972, c1971) (G.K. Hall, 1982, c1971) (Lippincott, 1979, c1971)
Three for McGee (Doubleday, 1967, c1964)
Time and tomorrow (Doubleday, 1980)
The Turquoise Lament (G.K. Hall, 1982, c1973)
The Turquoise Lament (Lippincott, 1973)
Where is Janice Gantry? (Fawcett Publications, 1961)
Additional References:
John D. MacDonald, a True Bibliophile: being a collection of sage, sophisticated sayings, profound praise, wonderful wisdom, and wit, spoken and writ over a four decade period, on the virtue, art, and skill of reading and writing--with much critique, compiled by Walter & Jean Shine. (W. & J. Shine, 1985.)
The Red Hot Typewriter: the life and times of John D. MacDonald by Hugh Merrill (St. Martin's Minotaur, 2000.)
The JDM Master Checklist; a bibliography of the published writings of John D. MacDonald, compiled and edited by Len & June Moffatt and William J. Clark. (Moffatt House, 1969)
A Bibliography of the Published Works of John D. MacDonald with selected biographical materials and critical essays by Walter & Jean Shine (Patrons of the Libraries, University of Florida, 1980)
A MacDonald Potpourri: being a miscellany of post-perusal pleasures of the John D. MacDonald Books for Bibliophiles, Bibliographers, and Bibliomaniacs, compiled by Walter and Jean Shine, with the assistance of Ellsworth Mason ... [et. al.] (University of Florida Libraries, 1988)
Rave or Rage : the critics & John D. MacDonald by Walter & Jean Shine
University of Florida, George A. Smathers Libraries, 1993)
Recommended:
Yes
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happy2000usa
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Member: Wayne Arnold
Location: Tracy, California, USA
Reviews written: 97
Trusted by: 170 members
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Writer, editor, beta tester, pilot, traveler. I'm an easy mark, always evaluating new software.
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