Customer Reviews

Flynn's World: A Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Francis Flynn, Boston's only police Inspector anticipates another ordinary day--setting a judge straight on a police frame, getting fired by the police Captain, and involving himself with his family. He's surprised when his daughter rousts him to rescue her boyfriend--whose ear has been nailed to a tree. The boyfriend refuses to tell who nailed him and quits the wrestling team leaving Flynn with a mystery. A second mystery soon comes foward. A Harvard professor, once a star but now out of style, has been receiving death threats. Flynn is directed to look into it by his spy-boss.

Along with hapless sidekick Grover (call me Richard), Flynn learns that Harvard has gone downhill, descending into internal dissension and value-free studies. The aging professor's old-fashioned beliefs that certain ideas are better, that certain (well educated) people make better leaders, and that professors have a mission to teach are considered elitist and outdated. Especially by one assistant professor who openly mocks the aging don while letting his own children grow up in a value free and hazardous environment. Flynn's large family, by contrast, is composed of well behaved and nearly perfect children.

Gregory Mcdonald's writing frequently left me laughing out loud. Flynn's wry comments and sly digs are appealing and certainly anyone would like to have Flynn's perfect family rather than the horrible life of the assistant professor (whose wife, unsurprisingly, is a child psychologist). Still, I think Mcdonald carried his message farther than the story allowed. Age-tested concepts and ideas may be fine, but then again, infant sacrifice, female mutilation, and witch-burning are age-tested ideas that survived for generations. Age and survival cannot be the test of an idea. Since Flynn is naturally perfect, he could certainly be our Platonic philosopher-king but, unfortunately, Flynn is fiction.

Mcdonald tried to tone down his message a little by introducing a neo-nazi cop--apparently intent on showing that Flynn (and Mcdonald) are not the elitist white males that the young professor would make them. Perhaps Flynn's contempt for 'Grover' is also intended to demonstrate a general contempt for the less educated, regardless of race. I found, however, that Flynn's treatment of his assistant was cruel and undeserved as Grover had his eyes opened by spending time with the professor and developing a real humanity--something that Flynn doesn't seem to share.

It's hard not to enjoy a Gregory Mcdonald book. His writing is very strong and compelling. His wit sparkles. It's hard to put FLYNN'S WORLD down--I read it in a single sitting despite the lateness of the hour. But it left an uncomfortable aftertaste.

When Francis Xavier Flynn was introduced in the pages of "Confess, Fletch", it was apparent that Gregory McDonald's success with "Fletch" wasn't a fluke. The author's ability to create smart, funny and believable characters was notable and refreshing, even with a character as unbelievable as Flynn, a mysterious Inspector for the Boston Police Department who also worked for the shadowy No Name organization, a global agency that specializes in the quiet resolution of threats to world peace.

McDonald went on to write three subsequent novels starring the intrepid Flynn, his world expanded to include his musical family, his assistant and friend Cocky, who is partially paralyzed and his incompetent partner "Grover". Each of these novels is funny, thoughtful and sharp. It didn't take long to realize, however, that the Flynn novels were forums for McDonald to pontificate, to offer his own opinions on the state of the world. They were no less enjoyable for this.

Now, many years after the last Flynn novel, "Flynn's In", McDonald has produced "Flynn's World", an oration on the evils of television, isolation and ignorance. Flynn ponders the identity of the person or persons who nailed his daughter's classmate's ear to a tree and of the person or persons who send threatening notes to helpless old Harvard professors. In typical style, Flynn employs his sons to spy on the school chum and putters around the Harvard campus, asking impertinent questions and making leaps of deductive logic that would make Sherlock Holmes tap his foot in annoyance.

Far from being one of Flynn's standard, entertaining romps, this fourth outing is a ponderous, pedantic drudge. In the intervening years while Gregory McDonald was off creating the dull "Skylar" and the flavorless "Son of Fletch" books (not to mention the awful works of "literature" he foisted on an unsuspecting public), he seems to have forgotten how to write for someone truly clever, not merely bombastic. Flynn now seems older, world-weary. This might be acceptable if the character had aged a dozen years in the interim, but this book takes place only a few weeks after the first one, "Flynn".

The writing is not as crisp as a fan might expect, the mysteries are not solvable by any means outside the brain of Flynn himself, and, once solved, are not satisfying. They are incredible and vaguely unsettling. And they ripple with meaning, not with a wink but with a bonk upon the head.

I am disappointed in this book, as I waited many months for its release, only to find that it is substandard McDonald, when I had expected a triumphant return. Why else wait so long before releasing a book with a hero so long dormant, if not to dazzle? Sadly, I remain undazzled.

Those of us who live in the academic world may be discomforted (or cheered, as I was) by how well the author skewers much of the high-sounding foolishness that currently infests the ivory tower. As a work of detective fiction this book isn't at the same level as the magnificent "Flynn" or "Flynn's Inn." At the same time, it isn't as far-fetched as "The Buck Passes Flynn," which was probably the low point of the four Flynn novels. Perhaps the writing isn't quite as witty as these earlier novels, and the plot is not as involved, but the tradeoff is more than acceptable, because two hallmarks of the Flynn character -- his wisdom and his empathy -- have increased as the author (and all of us) have mellowed with the years. I particularly enjoyed the gentler treatment of "Grover," who is still an annoying twerp, but every man has a history, as Flynn would say.

Flynn's World is an excellent return to the Flynn series. It takes place shortly after the previous Flynn novel finished, but you do not need to have read any of the other Flynn novels to enjoy this one (you will not understand 2 or 3 obscure references, but they are not critical in any way to the enjoyment of the book).

There are 3 main plots: a boy gets his ear nailed to a tree, an aging professor is being threatened, and a fellow police officer is apparently arresting only minorities. Each plot illustrates the theme of the book (basically, 'you must know where you're coming from to understand/have any idea of where you're going').

The subplot of the boy nailed to the tree gets the most attention, and it is the most interesting one as well. Its resolution is heartwarming. The subplot of the harassed professor is interesting, but I figured it out as soon as the harassing character appeared. The discussions of campus/office politics around this plot are interesting.

The subplot of the bigoted police office gets the least amount of space, and lacks interest as well. It seems tacked on.

It is good to see that Cocky has been reinstated.

If you've read and enjoyed previous Flynn novels, or other McDonald novels, you won't need a positive review to convince you to buy this book.

If you've never read anything by McDonald, this is as good a place to start as any, and I highly recommend that you do start. He's a real treat to read.

THIS IS A MARVELOUS BOOK if you are interested in reading a clever and humorous philosophical discussion of several topics (including the meaning of life and the value of history) by a highly gifted author. But if you simply want the enjoyable fast paced mystery stories replete with the wonderful character development that was characteristic of the previous FLYNN and FLETCH books you will be disappointed. While there is some traditional detective work involved in bringing to conclusion the three separate mysteries which FLynn confronts, it is clearly secondary to a discussion of the ideas generated by the situations and individuals which Flynn confronts.

Francis Xavier Flynn is an Inspector in the Boston Police department, which would make this a standard police procedural except that the BPD has no such rank. (You will have to read the book to learn the intricacies behind and relevance of that particular detail.) His early evening sleep is interrupted when his daughter Jenny awakens him to have him help Billy Capriano (whom he later discovers is Jenny's boyfriend), whose ear has been nailed to a tree in the local cemetery. Since Billy will reveal neither the reason for this strange occurrence or the perpetrators, the next day Flynn determines that he will set about attempting to solve the mystery. However, his curiosity is also soon piqued by the fact that a celebrated local cop with a very high conviction record has apparently arrested people based almost solely upon their race. Meanwhile, the fact that his designated assistant, Sergeant Richard "Grover" Whelan is trying to get the BPD to fire him provides some distraction from his endeavors. Finally, he suddenly receives a very high priority although unofficial assignment to discover who is threatening the life of renowned Harvard professor Louis Loveson.

Flynn is a truly charming and erudite individual, who proceeds about his tasks with an insight born of strong beliefs combined with an attention to detail. The humor is wonderful, but much of is composed of implicit (and sometimes explicit) ridicule of those beliefs and practices which Flynn finds abhorrent. Thus, these cases all revolve around the clash of values and the ideas that inform them. The story touches on such subjects as adolescence, modern day child rearing practices, political correctness in the acadenmic environment, the validity of the concept of progress, and the impact of television and computers on our beliefs and intellectual habits. A pretty amazing panoply for a book comprised of only two hundred ten (small) pages that is a very fast read! FLynn is a traditionalist, and so is Loveson, whom Flynn desperately wants to protect despite Loveson's unwillingness to cooperate. Loveson believes in rationality and progress and the value of a knowledge of history, rather than the chaos and deconstruction in vogue with so many academics today and often culminating in what the book aptly describes as "existential nihilism". (In all probabiltity this book will be very unpopular at Harvard for its portrayal of that campus and its politics.) Much of the commentary is implicit and very effective, such as the juxtaposition of the traditional childraising methods in the Flynn and Capriano families with that of one of the Harvard professors figuring prominently in the story.

All three mysteries are solved satisfactorily and the resolutions are often somewhat painful. Furthermore, we again get to visit with Elsbeth and the wonderful Flynn family and Flynn once again is ably assisted by Walter "Cocky" Concannon. So, I found this story a joy to read and uncharacteristically decided it to round up my rating to five stars despite one major flaw. It is too short. This is clearly a detective story used as a platform for the discussion of ideas, yet that discussion is tantalizingly incomplete. The author is as spare in fully debating the ideas involved as Flynn is in his conversation. The primary appeal of this book will surely be to readers interested in the topics that form the basis of the story and not to those interested in a standard police procedural. Thus, in my opinion this is one of the few instances when a modern author leaves us wishing for a lengthier exposition about his subject rather than buried in unnecessary detail. Despite that, the story would be worth reading just for the last two paragraphs, which form a near perfect conclusion.

After two books with national implications, this book was a nice change. The plots stay close to home, more characters reveal hidden depths, and Flynn appears to have mellowed over the years, but has not lost his edge. We get to see more of Flynn's family in action. Lots of wit, and several mysteries to solve.

Feeling gently forced compared to the majority of the slick and breezy Fletch and Flynn novels, this one is nonetheless a can't-put-down good read. While some of the loose ends don't tie up as neatly and the dialogue never trips along as chucklingly, Flynn's World still displays McDonald's flair for character-building in high form.

With the thinnest veneer of subtlety, the book serves as a stage to tease out some real world philosophical and ethical arguments, the characters dialoguing their development or destruction in a modern day morality play. Off-putting? Not to me. The end of the book leaves me wanting an even closer view of what Flynn's made of.

I'm sure I'll read this book again. If I ever have kids, I'll hope that they will enjoy books like this and be better humans for it. And I'll hope that I can borrow them every so often.

This book was my first experience with the intrepid Inspector Flynn, who poses as a (sort of) police officer while acting as a secret agent for an unnamed international do-gooder organization. While I enjoyed reading the book, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.

If you are a fan of hard-boiled crime fiction, then this book ain't your cup o' hooch. It is not so much a mystery as a comedic political/social commentary that's been gussied up as a whodunnit.

The all-knowing and all-too-perfect Flynn must solve three different mysteries: (1) who nailed the ear of his daughter's beau to a cemetery tree (with the stoic boyfriend still attached); (2) who is threatening an old-school Harvard Professor; and (3) why is a wunderkind cop arresting only minorities? Ultimately, the answer to each of the mysteries is underwhelming and hardly seems worth the effort. The racist cop subplot feels particularly forced and out of place. It's almost like McDonald was trying to pad his word count in order to keep this from being a novella rather than a novel.

The real star of the book is the witty dialog. It takes some getting used to at first--the characters prefer to converse in olde-timey, Victorian-style dialog. I've never been to Boston, but I don't think that they talk like that. But once you fall into step with the rhythms of the speech, however, the book (much like the Fletch books) seems to glide along at a witty and amusing pace.

If you enjoy clever banter and witty insights (and who doesn't?), then you might want to give this book an afternoon of your time. If you're looking for a good story (and who isn't), then this book won't cut the proverbial mustard.

Finally, Mr. McDonald has brought Flynn back. This book is great, just as great as the previous three entries. Pick this one up right away! And don't worry, you don't need to read the first three to follow this story. Now if we can only get him to write another Fletch.

While I understand where some others believe this to be a wee pedantic, I believe this comprises only a small part of the book. On the whole the book is highly believable, the skewering of intellectualized misbehavior spot-on, and the humanizing of and, one might say, redemption of "Grover" is worth the price tag alone. Unless you are fond of dry police procedurals, you have to take some of these fictional detectives with a grain of salt to enjoy them -- sure, Flynn's world is idealized, else he wouldn't be Flynn!

I find this book to be the perhaps the most enjoyable of all the Mcdonald books I've read so far, and highly recommend it. You've got to read it, if you're a fan of Flynn.