Customer Reviews

Put A Lid On It

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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After the superb (and darkly satirical) social commentary of "The Ax" and the intense psychological morality of "The Hook" Donald Westlake has returned to old, familiar and very funny territory for him -- the humorous crime caper novel. Once again we have a likable, non-violent career criminal who finds himself getting in over his head. Francis (not "Frank") Meehan finds himself for the first time in his life in a Federal lockup awaiting trial for an accidental Federal crime (well, how could he have known there was registered mail, for goodness sakes, in that trailer truck supposed to full of computer gear?). And then fate intervenes. Or, more exactly, the political committee for the reelection of the President of the United States intervenes. Wishing to carry out a Watergate-type endeavor without all that unfortunate publicity, the presidential advisors have decided to employ a professional burglar instead of using amateur enthusiasts and spies. Enter (or, rather, exit from jail) Francis Meehan. And he and the reader are off and running. No, "Put a Lid on It" doesn't possess the emotional whallop of "The Ax" or "The Hook" but sometimes it is enough just to have a darned good time. It's fast, it's funny, and it even involves a joint Israeli-Egyptian Intelligence team. How can you go wrong?

I haven't had as fun a read in a long, long time. Written with the typical matter-of-fact prose endemic to the genre, Westlake infuses his crime story with a wit that keeps you chuckling from beginning to end. Our hero is, of course, a thief--a criminal quite cognizant of his social shortcomings but trustworthy in his own fashion and making his way through the world as best he can.

Where Westlake absolutely excels is in his wry exposition of the absurdities with which "straight" society seems to have no problem. In this book the criminals have to teach the politicians their own business. There is a running theme in Westlake's story that has one set of characters engaged in what they rationalize as mere dirty tricks, which the criminals recognize as simple felony conduct. As the protagonist helpfully points out--housebreaking, however noble the intent, is still burglary. And therein lies the humor--the all-powerful political operatives simply fail to see that they are engaged in a criminal enterprise. It is to be regretted, I suppose, that the typical reader will have no problem believing that political operatives think this way.

The line between acceptable (or "legal") and unacceptable (or "criminal") conduct is being redrawn. Obviously, nobody should get too exercised about a good caper story--Westlake is careful to make his bad guys not too bad and his "good" guys horribly flawed. I think that Westlake's point is that our world is trading morality for legality and losing in the bargain. What is worse? A thief who honors his promises and exercises his or her own brand of income redistribution with self-restraint or a politician who, within the law, has no problem enriching themselves with the widow's mite.

But forget the philosophy--the author's gentle tweaking of values makes the book both hilarious and thought-provoking.

Weary of torturous plots that didn't make sense that I've been suffering through because they were "highly recommended" by people with "reputations", I reached for and started reading "Put a Lid On It" by Donald Westlake who wrote the dark "The Ax" and "The Hook". Every word of this comic caper was a joy including the dedication. I won't give you the plot (it's readily available). But let me tell you no plot summary can tell you the subtle ironic messages about our presidential election process I found in this crime caper. The ending is funny and touching. Don't miss this.

Westlake is up against the real crooks this time as he takes on the spindoctors, dirty tricks and honorable candidates of our national political scene. And you know he's going to win in the end by poking fun "RIGHT" and "LEFT!"

Francis Xavier Meehan is a thief. He's also sitting in jail getting ready to be found guilty of "big time" federal charges because the ordinary truck he helped hijack wasn't full of the expected computer stuff from Mexico, but U.S. Postal Service mail. Then out of the blue a very non-lawyerly person claiming to be his lawyer shows up at the jail to see him and makes him a deal that he can't refuse. It seems as if the president, who is running for re-election has committed a slight political blunder, which just happens to be detailed on a video tape the opposition is going to release as a last minute dirty trick that will blow the election. So Meehan agrees to the offer which is to steal the tape and watch the federal charges disappear.

So, do you really expect a bunch of politicians to ever do anything right - especially in a Westlake comedy of errors? Before long everyone from the opposition to international espionage agents know that something is brewing with Francis Xavier.

There's no "little blue dress" in this political farce, but expect to see just about everything else. Westlake has returned to his classic comic crime style for this one and created a whole new cast of enjoyable characters that really deserve a second visit. Hint. Hint. This one has my total recommendation.

Westlake is a master of both the comic crime novel and the caper story, and here he combines both to great effect. Francis Xavier Meehan (known always as "Meehan") is a felon and a recidivist. ("That's what they'll put on my tombstone, 'Francis Meehan, Recidivist'.") He's also very bright and an autodidact, mostly because there's lots of time to read in jail. This time, he's awaiting federal changes for having highjacked a truck he didn't know was carrying the U.S. Mail, and he's definitely not looking forward to federal time. So he's cautiously interested when a politician from the president's reelection campaign committee comes to see him about engaging his professional burglary skills to recover a "package" that could damage the president's chances and which is presently in the possession of the Other Side. The problem is, as Meehan lays his plans and tries to set up a team to do the job, nobody in Washington can keep their mouths shut. Jeffords, the political contact, is a hoot. Goldfarb, Meehan's lawyer, is another one. And Meehan himself is a trove of highly quotable dialogue and observations, espeically when it comes to the Ten Thousand Rules. Like many (perhaps most) of Westlake's yarns, this would make a pretty good film, too.

See storyline above.

If you're looking for a somewhat short novel with quick and witty dialogue in a humorous crime caper genre, this will satisfy. The character of Francis Meehan is very likeable as is the not so quick witted Pat Jeffords (the Fed that Meehan is doing the job for). An easy to read and easy to follow story that is not real involved.

Recommended

The late Donald Westlake was a master of his craft. Crisp, realistic dialog, with a judicious use of slang make his novels some of the most readable there are. Put a Lid on it, is the story of a career criminal who is sprung from jail while awaiting trial on federal charges by the President's reelection committee. "Nixon botched the Watergate break in because he used political hacks, instead of pros." It's a great story idea and Westlake pulls it off. I would have given the book 5 stars, but I like my bad guys bad. These guys are "good" bad guys. The novel reminded me of Lawrence Block's Bernie Rhodenbarr series, which I abandoned in search of real bad guys. Westlake wrote almost 100 novels under a dozen pen names. I read 361 before Put a Lid on it. In 361 there were lots of bad guys and shootem-ups. I'm going to read more of Westlake's works. In this political season, Put a Lid on it, is a fun read, regardless of your political leanings.

Even though I was never a dyed-in-the-wool mystery devotee, I did opt to form a mystery discussion group at my library a few years ago. People will often ask whether or not mystery titles lend themselves to serious discussion, and I always reply, "You'd be surprised." If books are well written, have interesting twists and turns, and believable, interesting characters, you'll find that you can certainly get a good hour's worth of conversation out of such a discussion.

But the thing is, I'm not a purist. I occasionally get into trouble with my group for straying too far from the "whodunnit" mode. When we recently read Donald Westlake's PUT A LID ON IT, I was informed in no uncertain terms by a few members of the group that, "THIS is not a mystery." I responded that, although it was admittedly more of a caper novel (a Westlake specialty, as far as I knew) it was still a mystery in the broadest sense of the term, and it was also quite funny AND quite tightly constructed. In fact, it was this non-mystery lover's favorite read of the year. I don't know if I convinced anyone else that this was great stuff, and for once, I didn't care. I had a great time reading it, and other people's cavils weren't about to convince me that it wasn't an excellent read OR that it wasn't right for a mystery group. (Sorry, but variety IS the spice of reading).

PUT A LID ON IT is the tale of a skilled thief, Francis X. Meehan (better known simply as "Meehan") who is offered an almost unheard of deal by the Feds who are holding him in detention for armed robbery. If he, a truly capable sneak thief, will perform a Watergate-style break-in BUT do it better than the inept Watergate burglars did it, the Feds will make his legal problems go away. It's an offer the initially reluctant Meehan ultimately can't refuse, as much as he hates dealing with amateur crooks of a governmental stripe. What ensues is a deliciously and meticulously convoluted plot of best-laid plan, some of which go awry, some of which succeed brilliantly (but, ah, there's always a curveball or two coming Meehan's way). And there's a great cast of characters to boot. Meehan's a hoot, an crook with a code of ethics and a sense of humor, the less than apt government agents who recruit him, his dedicated court-appointed lawyer (and incipient love interest), a band of thieves that only Ma Barker could love, and international spies who can't shoot straight or garotte efficiently. Throw in some political zealots who go WAAAY beyond ideology and well into lunacy and you've got yourself a rollicking good read.

It's a somewhat satirical novel too, but not in any heavyhanded way. I'm not sure I'd fully agree with those who'd compare this work with something like PRIMARY COLORS. Here the political background actually stays IN the background, which I personally prefer. For Meehan and Co., the politicians and their flunkies are just means to an end. The crook crooks move in a completely different world than the crooked pols. They have completely different priorities and are much more down to earth and likeable. And that probably says something.

If you've ever been frustrated by detective (or other) novels that are supposed to be "so darn funny and quirky that you're not gonna believe it" and find that, yeah, you really DON'T believe it, cuz they're really not as cute as their authors (and some fans) apparently believe them to be--well, it's time to give Donald Westlake a chance. He's genuinely funny, but he also spins a good, somewhat satirical. I can't think of a better combo in a mystery writer.

But I probably shouldn't be referring to Mr. Westlake in the present tense as though he's going to drop by tomorrow and address my mystery group in person. He's been gone for a few years now, and sadly (as far as I know) there will not be a sequel in the Meehan series--a real shame since PUT A LID ON IT almost begs for one. I'm sad too because he actually did stamp the same grounds as I do (i.e. he lived around here), and he WAS known to give readings at regional libraries from time to time. I would have loved to have hosted him--or at least to have attended a reading somewhere close by. Another missed opportunity, but then who knew? (Actually, I did sort of know, since we had also read another caper, BANK SHOT, several years ago, but while I remember liking that book a lot, I really loved PUT A LID ON IT.

Another missed opportunity. Darn.

This is a humorous crime caper novel in Westlake's Dortmunder tradition--but without Dortmunder & his crew. It's more straight-forward than the Dortmunder series with more emphasis on the riotous characters and their socio-economic-political relationships. Indeed, the book is focussed on a set of foils: an "honest" (according to his 1000 Rules) thief (Meehan) vs. political espionage & dirty tricks as well as the increasingly complicated relationship between Meehan and his attorney Goldfarb. The dialog so straight-forward on the surface is subtle & humorous beneath. My biggest issue is that it's so short. I liked it better than the few Dortmunder novels I've read. It's just as wry but not as ironic, perhaps, as Dortmunders are. A fun read IMHO.

This is vintage Westlake and a bitter satire of government.
All of Westlake's characters have runs of bad luck and Franci (not Frank, thank you) Meehan is no exception. Meehan is a non-violent career criminal who has just been incarcerated at the Manhattan Correctional Center awaiting sentencing on a federal charge (how was he to know the truck he was hijacking was carrying registered mail in addition to computer parts). He is approached by Jeffords, obviously a lawyer, who makes him a strange proposition. Jeffords whisks Meehan off to the Outer Banks in a corporate jet. The U.S. president's campaign committee needs a burglary performed, and they've learned a lesson from Watergate: If you need a successful burglary, hire a professional burglar. Amateurs, they are, they pick one in prison. They want Meehan to steal a very incriminating videotape from a supporter of the opposing party. All charges will be dropped if he can pull it off.
Meehan is no fool, however, hates to work with amateurs - that would violate one of the "ten-thousand rules" - and he works his own little sting in the midst of the large one. He enlists his own crew to lift the video from the estate of a wacko millionaire all the while trying to protect himself from incompetent but malicious forces (rent-a-thugs from the rival campaign and some errant Middle-Eastern types) who want the video for their own purposes.
In this humorous crime caper, Westlake is at his cynical and impudent best.