Customer Reviews

Fletch

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4 star:		(7)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read Fletch more years ago than I care to admit. And I've read all the others (heck, it could be a parlor game just trying to put all these books in chronological order...McDonald wrote them in the most convoluted order!!). They are all excellent, but Fletch set the mold.

Fletch is an investigative reporter with an attitude. Assigned to cover drug dealing on the local beaches, and also hired by a rich man to murder him, Fletch has a lot on his plate. Naturally, he doesn't intend to kill the guy, but he certainly wants to figure out WHY the man wants to be killed.

This Fletch book best combines the elements of Fletch's biting, sarcastic humor with a REALISTIC mystery. It's far-fetched, true, but still feels grounded in everyday life. Later Fletch books presented more outrageous mysteries and off-the-wall solutions. They are entertaining, but when you're dealing with mysteries surrounding presidential contenders or people who've undergone sex changes, you see that the "silliness" quotient is upped.

But, the main reason to read Fletch is to enjoy the dialogue. Much like the incomparable Ed McBain (Evan Hunter), McDonald can go on for pages with absolutely nothing BUT dialogue. No "said Mr. Jones" or "He laughed." You pick up all the mood, intonation and knowledge of who is speaking simply through the incredibly skillful use of the dialogue. And how often, really, do you laugh outloud when reading novel. You will in this one. I really recommend this book (and all the other Fletch books...Flynn is a little harder to get into.)

(A word about the movie...Chevy Chase is NOT the Fletch of these books. I found the movie to be an enjoyable vehicle for Chevy Chase [better than most of his dreck, actually], and even though the movie follows the skeleton of the book's plot, it's tone is NOT the same. Enjoy the movie on its own terms...it's not that bad...but don't let it influence your decision to read the book. If you like the movie, you'll love the book. If you hated the movie, you probably will still like the book.)

I've seen the Chevy Chase movie, although it's been years. I remember it having some good one-liners, etc., although it was not a "great" film. Still, bargain bins are great things, and this book was too good a bargain to pass up.

I. M. Fletcher, "Fletch" to his friends, is a reporter chasing a drug story on the beaches of California. Here, he is approached by Alan Stanwyck, wealthy businessman, about doing a favor. It seems Stanwyck is dying of cancer, and wants Fletch to kill him at the end of the week. Fletch, intrigued, agrees. He naturally investigates Stanwyck while juggling the drug story, dealing with an editor he has no respect for (rightfully so), and dodging his ex-wives' (yes, wives plural) lawyers.

Let's face it, the real draw here is the dialogue. Kevin Smith is among many people who have said they learned how to write great dialogue from Gregory McDonald. And it's not hard to see why, as McDonald has a gift it. He simply lets his characters talk. There are no adjectives, adverbs, "he said," "she said" in his pages of speaking. He simply chooses his words (or his characters do), and everything is left to the reader to "see" and "hear"--tone, body language, etc. And it keeps the reader turning the page, hoping not to get caught in the crossfire as Fletch trades barbs with whatever "lesser" being he is forced to deal with as he pursues both stories.

Which isn't to say the plot is lacking. It's quite gripping. Actually the two disparate plot-lines are gripping, as Fletch moves in and out of his investigations, using solid detective work and a great deal of duplicity to get answers. Unlike the film, the two stories Fletch chases don't come together in any meaningful way, but the chase is in and of itself fun. Indeed, even if you have seen the film, you will be surprised at how different the many details of the book differ from the film. They are almost two different stories.

And in many ways, the Fletch of the book is very different from the character of the film. As I read the book, I was never quite sure if I liked Fletch as a person. He refuses to pay alimony (never quite clear if it was because he couldn't or simply wouldn't), he has a relationship with a 15-year-old girl who is a drug-addict that doesn't seem terribly healthy, he hates his editor, and he demonstrates just generally misanthropic tendencies, with little obvious reason. But, somehow, he won me over, and so I was rooting for the guy to finally overcome all the obstacles in his life, the most important obstacle being the entire human race.

While I am not in a huge hurry to read the next book in the series, I do think I will eventually. Fletch is an interesting character, and I am very curious about the course of his career.

A while back I heard director Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy) comment that his dream project would be a new version of Fletch, shot the way the book was written. I wasn't quite sure what he meant so when I saw copies of the Fletch novels in my local bookstore, I couldn't resist. Admittedly, while the novel and the movie have quite a few things in common, the novel is far superior.

The plot of both the movie and the book are essentially the same but the genius of the novel is the crisp, concise dialog. Mcdonald relies not on narrative but dialog to convey the majority of the characterization and action. With Fletch, he crafts a dialog-driven, witty and unconventional mystery.

For those who enjoy mysteries or simply want to read a wonderfully written book, Fletch is a must.

"Fletch" the novel is much darker than the Chevy Chase movie it subsequently became. Yes, the title character is working undercover on the beaches of L.A. when a millionaire asks him to kill him. But the story goes in a much different (and more believable) direction. The book also has far more tension than the movie as well as a much grittier edge. Recommended especially for fans of private detective fiction.

Even if you didn't like the movie (for the record, it's my favorite of all time), you still will enjoy the book. I read the book with curiosity as to how closely the movie followed it, but even Fletch Newbies will be thoroughly engaged by this mystery. Irwin M. Fletcher, reporter, has been working on a story to uncover the source of drugs on The Beach, when he is suddenly propositioned by a well-to-do businessman, who asks Fletch to kill him! What does Fletch do? What he always does, and that is to take matters into his own hands and try to find out why, while also trying to meet his deadline on The Beach story. This is a true first class mystery!

Don't get me wrong. . . I love the movie, but the book that inspired it just blows the movie away. I've read "Fletch" at least four times now, and I enjoy it more every time. The characters are much more interesting in the book, and the plot is much deeper.

I really can't say too much without spoiling it, but just trust me: You want to read this book, and then you'll want to read the rest of the Fletch series, which just keeps getting better.

Now, a note about the digital edition (eBook) of "Fletch" -- I appreciate Amazon selling it for a good price, but I have to give a big THUMBS DOWN to the publisher for making the list price ONE DOLLAR MORE than the list price for the trade paperback edition. When you consider that the digital edition requires no binding, printing, paper stock, shipping, stocking, storing, or distribution, and is plagued with DRM on top of that, it's an *insult* to make the list price a dollar more than the print edition. There's no reason for there to be a price hike from print to digital editions; it should be the opposite, in fact.

I have to hope this sort of greedy behavior comes back to bite publishers on the rear.

I first stumbled on this book in the library many moons ago, when I had polished off all the Alistair McLean books and was perusing the nearby stacks for something else I might like. At the time I read all of McDonald's books, thoroughly enjoying them (I then moved on to John D. MacDonald, whose Travis McGee books are in a similar vein). I recommend the movie to friends as an adaptation of a book where they've captured the spirit of the story and updated it to modern times. Yes, it's lighter, the gritty reality of the plot surfaces only occasionally, but it translated to screenplay much better than I expected it to.

For readers who enjoy mysteries or detective stories or just well-written novels, Gregory McDonald should be on your list.

All of the other reviews are spot on-- this is a page-turner, very funny, especially great dialogue, etc.

One more thing that should be mentioned-- fans of noir fiction will appreciate the stylistic tweak McDonald gives the genre. Whereas the typical noir milieu is dark, dreary and brooding, McDonald sets "Fletch" on a bright, sunny beach.

To the extent that noir is defined by setting and mood more than anything else, this has a substantial effect. Whereas the typical noir setting is something of a metaphor for all that is evil or twisted lurking beneath the surface, in "Fletch," all of the evil is lurking in plain sight (yet is no less mysterious). The hot, sunny beach setting also recalls "The Stranger" by Camus, another book that famously played on the noir genre.

"Fletch" is so entertaining that it is easy to miss the skill with which McDonald adds to and reimagines many of the noir cliches.

I recently read that Fletch, the movie, was a terrible adaptation of Fletch, the book. Well I liked the movie, so naturally I got curious about how much better the book could be.

The book turned out to be very close to the movie. It's really more like a screenplay than a novel: mostly action and dialogue, it lays down the facts and lets you do your own musing about what's going on. Like a good screenplay, you can really see the story coming to life in your head.

Fletch, the character, is the typical wandering man. A drudge-reporter, twice divorced, dodging alimoney, sliding from romance to romance, hardly earning enough to get by but good at what he does, Fletch is a modern noir hero. He's always going undercover, pretending to be other people, perhaps because he's searching for who he is.

For the lonely searcher, or for the average reader, Fletch is good entertainment in book or movie form.

One of the great mystery writers of all time, this book really kicked off McDonald's career. He won top honors for mystery writers with the Edgar award twice. This book was the start of the Fletch series and by all means don't think the movie, with Chevy Chase, captured the spirit of the book. Chase is a great comic, but he is all wrong for the main character. All of the Fletch series has two plots going on at the same time and are resolved/solved within the last few pages of the book.

Irwin Maurice Fletcher -- I.M. Fletcher - "Fletch" is an investigating reporter that is trying to solve how drugs are being brought into the beach community and has a wealthy man asks Fletch to murder him. Sound complicated and how do the two get solved? You got to read. A very fun and quick read. The entire series is a great read.