Promised Land by Robert B. Parker
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

"'[...] She believes some very destructive things. What's that Frost line, 'He will not go behind his father's saying'?'
' 'Mending Wall,' ' Susan said.
'Yeah, she's like that [...]' "

Here's another one for our favorite poetry lover, Spenser. Not only does he have an opportunity to dazzle Susan - as well as the reader - with his familiarity with poems of Robert Frost, but in this novel he also displays superb boxing skills in several fights with bad guys. Love of poetry, professional-level boxing prowess, intelligence, wit, and extraordinary manly charm do not exhaust the list of Spenser's superhuman features. But first about the plot of Promised Land (1976), the fourth novel in Robert B. Parker's Spenser series.

A businessman hires Spenser to find his wife, who ran away from him and from her three children. As soon as Spenser begins working on the case, we meet Hawk. This is his first appearance; he will become one of the main characters in the series. The reader, who has never read later Spenser novels, will likely develop, at least at the beginning, somewhat negative impression of Hawk's character.

Before I start ridiculing the novel, let me first say what I like - not much, so it will go fast. I like the author's realistic account of the marital problems that made the businessman's wife run away. I also like the portrayal of Susan Silverman. In particular, I like her words

" 'What kind of man does the kinds of things you do? What kind of man gets up in the morning and showers and shaves and checks the cartridges in his gun?' "

All the rest is bad. Or very bad. Like the author's attempts to legitimize Spenser's godlike powers to judge people on their actions and to absolve them of their wrongdoings. Like the infantile take on 1970s feminism. Like the embarrassing pop psychology bits. Like the totally implausible plot developments, such as, for instance, Spenser arranging illegal deals with police and FBI.

It is now time to disclose the magnitude of my ignorance. Promised Land won the Edgar Award for the best novel in 1977. This is the first time my opinion differs so much from that of the literary critics. I do not understand how anyone can see greatness in this book. I must have missed a lot of good stuff when reading the novel; it's either this or senility...

I will keep reading Spenser's novels in order in which they have been written since I am curious when the author finds the voice of the later installments, which tend to be much more to my liking.

One-and-three-quarter stars.

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