Like the five human beings who have managed to convince themselves that kidnapping the court jester will bring the kingdom to its knees, these forces stumble around and crash into each other, striking sparks that ignite brutal violence. The nature of fame, the perils of an unexamined life, and the politics of law enforcement all come into play. Westlake skillfully lays bare the mundane nature of evil-even when perpetrated by people who claim to serve a Higher Cause, it’s still loony as the day is long-and gets unflinchingly close to the kidnappers as their plot and relationships to one another begin to unravel, inevitably and reluctantly, throwing Davis into ever-deepening danger. Neither, for that matter, is the FBI’s lead investigator, the man on the other end of the lifeline he’s a closet drinker with career issues who’s mostly concerned with covering his butt. But the kidnappers, each in his or her own way, are not wrapped too tight. ![]() In a weird and naïve bid for revolutionary glory, the PRA-all five of them-decide that kidnapping the beloved Koo Davis, known to frequent the nightclubs and golf courses of power, will constitute a Master Stroke that will bring about a Koo Coup of sorts, forcing The Man to release ten high-profile political prisoners.ĭavis could (and in fact, does) tell them it’s not the most foolproof plan in world history. A random, ragtag band of self-styled radicals, the People’s Revolutionary Army, has also been plagued by a growing sense of irrelevance. He’s not the only one out there feeling that way. He’s battling a growing sense that the world has somehow passed him by. Koo Davis is a comedian who’s been perfecting his schtick on USO tours since the second world war, when “the point of the touring shows was to give the troops a safe acceptable look at American tits and asses.”ĭavis, a show-biz vet and not the most introspective man, nonetheless can’t help noticing that the tone of his military audiences has shifted between Korea and Viet Nam, and certain things just aren’t funny anymore. ![]() It is 1977, and America is still deep in the throes of a spiritual hangover, figuring out what has changed and why. WestlakeTitan, 2012, $25.99įans of the late Donald Westlake-Mystery Writers of America Grand Master, three-time Edgar winner, and Academy Award nominee for The Grifters-are in luck with the posthumous publication of The Comedy Is Over, a completed manuscript from the early ‘80s discovered in a friend’s trunk.
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