Burglars Can’t Be Choosers by Lawrence Block
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was the first Lawrence Block novel I ever read, way back in the early eighties, which means it was still ten years old at the time. I went on to devour as much Block as I could, and I might even go so far to say he had a subliminal influence on my thinking I could write, someday.
(Everyone’s a writer, I know. Or an actor or a musician).
I just finished it again, and my feelings are more or less the same. The book is light, fun, easy, despite being about grand theft larceny and murder. The afterword talks about the struggle Block had writing it, which is hard to believe, as there’s no evidence of that in the story. It breezes right along through less than 200 quick pages.
Bernie is a likable guy, maybe a bit on the shallow side, which is to say, not encumbered by any kind of deep flaw that wants to work itself out on the page. And the story is basically of a kind with Mr. Rhodenbarr, which makes for a nice arrangement.
If there’s anything that distracts from the story, it’s one heck of a coincidence that pops up; not deus ex machina, per se but maybe close enough if what you want is a devilishly clever series of diabolical twists.
But if you don’t take it too seriously, and just jump in to have a nice time, Burglars Can’t Be Choosers gets the job done. That it’s by a modern master of fiction just makes it all the more satisfying in the end.