A Private Cathedral

A Private Cathedral, A Dave Robicheaux Novel, by James Lee Burke, Simon & Schuster 2020

I was wrong.

When I saw the words "a time-traveling superhuman assassin" and "science fiction" on the back cover, I said "no", "never,"  my hero James Lee Burke, whom I have read since his first -  Half of Paradise -  of forty books appeared in 1965, is too old now, he's lost it.  But, I was so wrong.

Turns out James Lee Burke is in a place that makes so much sense to me. His usual characters - Dave Robicheaux and Clete Purcell, the "Bobbsey Twins from Homicide" -  are contending with their own weaknesses and demons - alcohol, Vietnam flashbacks, lost women, dead men - as they attempt to rescue two lost "kids," musicians Johnny Shondell and Isolde Balangie, Romeo and Juliet members of feuding Louisiana families.  Add that basic bloody descent to Burke's untouchable landscape and atmosphere images - fog, swamp water, sun, Cajun accents - and what he has produced is the kind of book I wanted never to end, despite the fact that his characters had reached the end of the line, time for them to exit the stage.  

Because you see, what this book is really about is death and dying and struggle and loss.  That's it - the characters and place settings move us through these life passages and good-beat-by-evil truths.  They show us the confusing human mix of righteousness underlaid with poisonous self-interest.  Dave and Clete may come off as heros, but they are cracked and worn and tired, beyond tired, like all of us.  And they can't give up; they are unable to walk away from the conflict, knowing that each confrontation could be the last.

I can imagine that this book took Mr. Burke longer to write because as neatly as the landscape flows, he's got to take a breather after the more difficult passages. And that makes sense to me too, because an easy book would never flow quite like this one.  

I am hoping for more.  I am greedy for the assurance that Mr. Burke has it in him - as do Dave and Clete (who never seem to age at the same rate as we do!) and that they will maintain their relentless stance.  Robert Parker dropped dead at his desk.  Hemingway almost made it through Islands in the Stream. Michael Connolly is still going strong.  And we all know what happened to Tom Clancy's name.   So I am not giving up if James Lee Burke isn't giving up either.

Patricia E. Moody

FORTUNE magazine  "Pioneering Woman in Mfg" 

IndustryWeek IdeaXchange Xpert

A Mill Girl at Blue Heron Journal, on-line resource for business thought-leaders and decision-makers, pemoody@aol.com, patriciaemoody@gmail.com