In a bit of purposeful irony, Brandstetter's straight father
hopped from woman to woman, some became wives and others were
just lovers. Meanwhile Dave practised monogamy with lovers
rarely changing.
Dave's personal life is always a major subplot and, as I said
before, I found this one of the most attractive features of
the series,especially as he aged from book to book and Cecil,
his long- time lover, nagged him to retire.
I need to dig up the old magazine wherein the fine editor
Robert Lowndes describes discusses the two types of series.
One is static wherein the hero never ages and nothing changes
from book-to-book. The other evolves with characters aging,
circumstances changing, and etc. He had very appropriate
names for each but be damned if I can remember the
terms.
Richard Moore
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "Burridge, Stephen"
<stephen.burridge@h...> wrote:
> Hansen's another writer whose work I didn't know. I
read "Early
Graves",
> a relatively late (late '80s) Dave Brandstetter
novel, in which
the AIDS
> epidemic is a central concern. I found it an
enjoyable read, with
what
> I thought was a quite decent plot. The murder victim
is an
interesting
> character, imo.
>
> I haven't read many stories set in the gay
subculture. This is
> definitely the world Brandstetter inhabits most of
the time, and I
found
> it interesting both as a slightly exotic setting and
as an
explanation
> for the alienation and some of the conflicts that
affect
Brandstetter
> and other characters.
>
> Brandstetter's personal life is developed in what I
would say
amounts to
> a subplot. The reader is adequately brought up to
speed on the
> situation he's in with his lover, but it would
probably be more
> satisfying to have read earlier book(s), in which
the development
of the
> relationship is presumably described,
first.
>
> Reading an earlier book would probably be a better
way to get a
handle
> on the Brandstetter character as detective, and his
attitudes to
> society, etc, as well. In "Early Graves" he's famous
and
successful,
> has good relations with the cops, and lots of money,
apparently
> inherited. He's persistent and individualistic,
thinking for
himself,
> like most fictional PIs, I suppose. He's not a
cynic, but someone
who
> is willing to take emotional risks and who still
retains a faith in
> human nature, though few illusions.
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