A short life of the author
Donald Edwin Westlake (1933–2008) was born on 12 July 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. He wrote over a hundred novels under his own name and numerous pseudonyms, most notably Richard Stark.
Life and Career
As Richard Stark, Westlake created Parker — a professional thief without sentiment, conscience, or small talk — in The Hunter (1962, filmed as Point Blank and Payback). The Parker novels — twenty-eight in all — are masterpieces of lean, ruthless prose. Parker is not a hero; he is a force of nature, and the novels’ refusal to moralise about his activities is part of their power.
As Donald Westlake, he created John Dortmunder — an unlucky professional thief whose elaborate heists invariably go wrong in hilarious ways — in The Hot Rock (1970). The Dortmunder novels are the finest comic crime fiction in the language.
His standalone novels — particularly The Ax (1997, about an unemployed middle manager who decides to murder his competition) — demonstrate a darker range.
Major Works and Themes
Westlake’s great achievement is to have written with equal mastery in two radically different modes: the cold, stripped-down violence of the Parker novels and the warm, elaborate comedy of the Dortmunder novels.
Key Works
- The Hunter (1962, as Richard Stark)
- The Hot Rock (1970)
- Butcher’s Moon (1974, as Stark)
- The Ax (1997)
Collecting Westlake
The Hunter (1962, Pocket Books, paperback original, as Stark) brings $50–$200. The Hot Rock (1970, Simon & Schuster) brings $30–$80. Westlake signed at mystery conventions. He died in 2008.