Customer Reviews

Main, The

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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That book is pretty different from the other pieces of Trevanian. First of all, there is barely action. Well, there are, but these are only details. This is a story of a town, and its ordinary people. While reading it, I went like: "Hey, nothing's happening, yet I still want to keep on reading". That is how I usually react when reading a Steinbeck book. For those who liked Trevainian just by reading Hemlock's adventures, you may not like this one. Yet, it is a great novel. The best part was its conclusion. It suprised me. See, that surely ain't an action novel (other Trevanian book are not either. However someone can just read them as if they are, and miss the depth of the novels).

This is perhaps the strongest of Trevanian's works; maybe it does not quite reach "Shibumi"'s heights of fancy and excitement, but the characterisation is better, the characters themselves are more believable, the plot is less absurd, and the descriptions of the Main and its inhabitants are delightful. The plot revolves around the policeman of the old school who benevolently watches over The Main, a street in Montreal, with an iron fist and a gentle touch. LaPointe, a lieutenant in a force which has changed around him, though he has not, is caught up in a murder, the events surrounding which, drag him back and forth through his inner self, as he is forced to confront his mortality, the lack of personal love (though he is generically loved in his rôle as protector of the street) in his life, and a number events of his past. Even the bit players in this story are real, with histories and personalities which dictate how they act; and the revelation at the end of the plot will be a nice surprise, well concealed, though the clues are fairly given. Trevanian did a fine job with "The Main".

Rod Whitaker's first novel took ten years to write and was preceeded to print by his bestsellers, The Eiger Sanction and The Loo Sanction, and his cowritten film of The Eiger Sanction. Better known as Trevanian, Whitaker's literate (albeit strikingly crass) and acerbic voice is here presented in an unusual third-person, present-tense format; this reveals Whitaker's earlier incarnation as a filmmaker. The story is familiar: an old, streetwise cop is matched with a n uptight, by-the-book rookie to solve a murder. The quality is in the details: the complex social strata of French Canada; a love of Zola; the moral grey areas of life as a beat cop. Fabulous texture and heart-rending sentiment that Trevanian was not to show again until his final novel, The Summer of Katya.

I read approximately 50 titles per year, and I read my first Trevanian novel last year. This is a novel of a different style; a throw back to character definition, plot extension, and the ability to place the reader into the time and location of the story. While not exciting (like Patterson, Sandford or Connelly), Trevanian has the talent that transports the reader into the novel; you learn about the characters, their thoughts and their lives. I would put this novel in the category of Updike and Irving. In only 325 pages, Trevanian develops complex characters that you feel for and understand. The plot, though well thought out and nicely presented, is not what brings you back to keep reading; it's the characters do that. If you're looking for a quick, non-thinking book for the beach, keep looking. However, if you are tired of the same old stuff, give it try.

I liked Trevanian's earlier works like Eiger Sanction, but their heroes tended to be a little too perfect, a little too James Bondian (Bond books, not movies!)
The Main features a much more interesting hero, an old French-Canadian cop who has failed in many ways and is definitely not hip to new trends in policing. He is a great street cop whose lifetime of prowling gives us an insider's view of the city.
The earlier works are thrillers, but this is a minor masterpiece.

The Main is a fine novel. Set on the mean streets of a Canadian city this story follows a middle aged cop trying to keep with the times, to take care of the people his turf, solve crimes, and help his friends--not all of which is mutually compatible. It is book full of humanity and human weakness, expertly framed by great story telling. Another testament to the versatility of the author.

Trevanian is the pen name of a professor of linguistics and communication science called Rodney Whitaker (RW; 1931-2005). His true identity was disclosed first when he allowed himself to be interviewed on the occasion of the publication of "Shibumi", his fourth or fifth book that sold > 1 million copies. His academic background and an extraordinary gift and ear for language endowed him with a singular talent: writing fresh books in exactly the style of famous authors, dead or alive.
Readers who love his parodies of Ian Fleming's James Bond in his first 2 bestsellers, or of the once popular Ninja novels, as in "Shibumi", and of Marcel Proust in "The Summer of Katya" should consult Wikipedia: RW has published many more books in many more genres under many other names. This reader's favorite of his amazing and partly-bestselling oeuvre as Trevanian is "The Main".
Claude La Pointe is a 30-year veteran of Montreal's police force. His precinct's streets, esp. the Main, are full of recent immigrants. He patrols his area closely and is known, trusted, respected. He also sadly lost his wife at a young age. Since then, when retiring from a day's work, he consoles himself with the collected works of Emile Zola. Upon finishing the last volume of the long row of books, he starts with the first again. Are they in French or English? We will never know. For La Pointe there is only the present, no time for past or future. Emile Zola wrote his novels in the present tense. So does Trevanian in "The Main".
Apart from the slow, methodical search for the perpetrator of a murder, little action takes place. This reader first read "The Main" shortly after its initial publication. It has left several indelible images: La Pointe's reading, re-reading Zola over and over again is one. Another unforgettable image concerns an alcoholic tramp who lives in a deep, tarp-covered hole in the ground with a very dangerous entry/exit: to protect himself from the urge to go out and score more booze, he designed his exit so steep that he can only climb out when completely sober. A warning about how low one can fall and still control oneself. Great writing!
"The Main" was first published in 1976, the year Montreal hosted the Olympic Games. Not a word about the event in this book. This book is more about how to write a story than what the story is about. And how to keep readers spellbound.

I read it in two days. After I finished, I just sat with it inmy lap and thought about it, musing the characters. I can't say thattoo many books have had that effect...

WRITE MORE, TREVANIAN...

I just wish that Trevanian was more prolific. All his books are readable and some are great. This one is great.

another GREAT book by Trevanian! the story holds you from the start! i could not put it down!