Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Mysterious Press (1990), Hardcover
Pages
432
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: This rollicking tale of an aging robber who wants to blow up a reservoir "will keep readers laughing" (Publishers Weekly). In his day, Tom was a hard man. He came up with Dillinger in the 1930s, and pulled a lot of high-profile jobs before the state put him away. They meant it to be for good, but after twenty-three years the prisons are too crowded for seventy-year-old bank robbers, and so they let the old man go. Finally free, he heads straight for John Dortmunder's house. Long ago, Tom buried $700,000, and now he needs help digging it up. While he was inside, the government dammed a nearby river, creating a reservoir and putting fifty feet of water on top of his money. He wants to blow the dam, drown the villagers, and move to Acapulco. If Dortmunder wants a clean conscience to go along with his share, he needs to find a nice way to get the money before Tom's nasty instincts get the best of both of them..… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1990
Physical description
432 p.; 9.06 inches
ISBN
0892961783 / 9780892961788
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User reviews
LibraryThing member robkill
My favorite of the Dortmunder novels so far. (So far meaning so far as I have read, since of course there won't be any more Dortmunder novels.) I've only read a few, maybe 5 or 6, including some that came long after this one, but Drowned Hopes has some of the finest of Westlake's good-naturedly
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cynical writing that I've come across. The wedding scene at a tiny upstate NY church -- a whole chapter in itself -- is a near-perfect little vignette of its own. Westlake has a genius for quick but evocative characterization second to none, and he lavishes it on even the Show Less
LibraryThing member patrickgarson
Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novels are quite different to the books he puts out as Richard Stark. The lean, neo-noir stylings slide into a more comedic territory , the prose puts on some comfortable weight and the dog of a story becomes shaggier. If Stark novels are a thin futon, the Dortmunder
Unlucky thief Dortmunder is unwillingly roped into his latest heist. A sociopathic former cellmate wants to blow up a dam - to retrieve money he buried in a now-sunken village forty years ago. Dortmunder is convinced there's a way to get the money without killing thousands of people. But will his ingenuity get him the money before his accomplice takes him - and several townships - out?
Drowned Hopes is a fairly leisurely affair, clocking in at over four hundred pages it may be the longest Westlake novel, and I confess to a little impatience at times. The story is so affable, and Westlake's dry, ironic prose unwilling to take *anything* too seriously, it can feel a little inconsequential.
Mind you, like a long, rambling drive in the country (of which the novel features several), there's certainly much to appreciate if you're in the right mood. I don't find Westlake laugh-out-loud funny, but his mis-matched and put-upon cast are generally amusing, and Westlake's literate, but never high-faluting eye, is ever taking small, sly digs at them.
Though quite different from his writing as Richard Stark, there's a similar level of accomplishment to both the prose, and the plotting of Drowned Hopes. Westlake is methodical and logical in his planning of even the most ridiculous crime - and equally methodical in thinking of all the ways it can go wrong.
Nonetheless, without a tangible feeling that anything was at stake, and an almost televisual conviction that everything would turn out - if not for the best, definitely not for the worst - I did find myself flagging at times, despite the humour, affection and general solid craft that went into Drowned Hopes.
If you like a comedic crime caper, and are willing to take an amble into Dortmunder's world, for ambling's sake, you're likely to enjoy this novel. Personally, I prefer the campari-bitter, jerky-lean pleasures of the Richard Stark novels, but it's really more a matter of taste than merit.
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stories are a waterbed. There's nothing wrong with a waterbed, of course, but they don't appeal to everyone. Unlucky thief Dortmunder is unwillingly roped into his latest heist. A sociopathic former cellmate wants to blow up a dam - to retrieve money he buried in a now-sunken village forty years ago. Dortmunder is convinced there's a way to get the money without killing thousands of people. But will his ingenuity get him the money before his accomplice takes him - and several townships - out?
Drowned Hopes is a fairly leisurely affair, clocking in at over four hundred pages it may be the longest Westlake novel, and I confess to a little impatience at times. The story is so affable, and Westlake's dry, ironic prose unwilling to take *anything* too seriously, it can feel a little inconsequential.
Mind you, like a long, rambling drive in the country (of which the novel features several), there's certainly much to appreciate if you're in the right mood. I don't find Westlake laugh-out-loud funny, but his mis-matched and put-upon cast are generally amusing, and Westlake's literate, but never high-faluting eye, is ever taking small, sly digs at them.
Though quite different from his writing as Richard Stark, there's a similar level of accomplishment to both the prose, and the plotting of Drowned Hopes. Westlake is methodical and logical in his planning of even the most ridiculous crime - and equally methodical in thinking of all the ways it can go wrong.
Nonetheless, without a tangible feeling that anything was at stake, and an almost televisual conviction that everything would turn out - if not for the best, definitely not for the worst - I did find myself flagging at times, despite the humour, affection and general solid craft that went into Drowned Hopes.
If you like a comedic crime caper, and are willing to take an amble into Dortmunder's world, for ambling's sake, you're likely to enjoy this novel. Personally, I prefer the campari-bitter, jerky-lean pleasures of the Richard Stark novels, but it's really more a matter of taste than merit.
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LibraryThing member selkins
This is a somewhat unusual Dortmunder criminal caper book for a couple of reasons: it's partly set in upstate New York, and it has a fun side story with an unlikely hero. Dortmunder has a problem: a disturbing old cellmate wants him to help recover a lost cache. Along with the usual gang
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experiencing fish-out-of-water in the suburbs this story, they wind up using the services of Wally, a computer geek. Westlake's dry humor and command of language is in superb form here, from Dortmunder's girlfriend May's imagined cigarette fiddling (she's trying to quit) to brief descriptions of towns and people. There's a certain warmth, too, to Wally's story -- he imagines the only place he'd find comfortable would be in outer space, among short, plump, moist aliens, but this adventure he gets dragged into rewards him more than he expects. This is my favorite Dortmunder book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mike-L
I'm a big fan of Donald E. Westlake but this is my first Dortmunder novel, if I read more in the series it will be in spite of this novel not because of it.
I had a very difficult time getting into this novel. During the first third of it I struggled to stay interested, nearly putting it down
Perhaps one of the problems was that in the early part of the book there is a lot of emphasis on "modern technology". Since the book was written in 1990 that means there is a lot of outdated stuff (like one character's introduction to speaker phones) where one character has to explain various aspects of basic computer functions to the others and then there are long passages describing rudimentary images being created on a computer screen.
There is plenty of Mr. Westlake's trademark humor sprinkled liberally throughout so that once I got deeper into the book I was able to finally connect with the material and enjoy it much more.
I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone but a diehard Westlake fan. It's overlong, plodding in parts and, though it somewhat redeems itself in the end, not a great story.
I had a very difficult time getting into this novel. During the first third of it I struggled to stay interested, nearly putting it down
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unfinished several times, which is extremely unusual for me. The plot just seemed to come to a standstill off and on throughout the book. I don't mean the action stopped, I mean the story itself got sidetracked and then moved along at a glacial pace for page after page after page before returning to the main plot. To compound the problem there were several sections where the author went into excruciating detail to set the scene.Perhaps one of the problems was that in the early part of the book there is a lot of emphasis on "modern technology". Since the book was written in 1990 that means there is a lot of outdated stuff (like one character's introduction to speaker phones) where one character has to explain various aspects of basic computer functions to the others and then there are long passages describing rudimentary images being created on a computer screen.
There is plenty of Mr. Westlake's trademark humor sprinkled liberally throughout so that once I got deeper into the book I was able to finally connect with the material and enjoy it much more.
I don't think I would recommend this book to anyone but a diehard Westlake fan. It's overlong, plodding in parts and, though it somewhat redeems itself in the end, not a great story.
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LibraryThing member Shijuro
I suppose tastes vary. I see that some find this the best Dortmunder ever but it falls flat for others. I was in the latter category; having read all the Dortmunders until this point then listened to most of them on Audible, this is my least favorite so far.
Partly, it is the Audible narrator who is
That said, it does have some enjoyable minor guest characters that we don't spend enough time with, and a moment or two remind me of what the series can be.
Partly, it is the Audible narrator who is
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racing through the story with little effort to differentiate characters or give time to absorb the dialog. Partly, it is the story (which didn't impress me much when I read it either), featuring a genuinely unlikable "guest star". There are fewer fun sequences in this than in most of the other stories.That said, it does have some enjoyable minor guest characters that we don't spend enough time with, and a moment or two remind me of what the series can be.
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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
My fifth Dortmunder book! He and the gang are after a coffin full of money - in a reservoir, under fifty feet of water! And, believe it or not, they didn't get it on their first attempt! Or second. Or...
LOVED the subplot of Bob, the young fella who works at the damn! The poor guy! Lol!
I also loved
LOVED the subplot of Bob, the young fella who works at the damn! The poor guy! Lol!
I also loved
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(as I have in other Dortmunder books) Andy Kelp’s penchant for stealing cars with MD plates! And finally I loved that in this book, Dortmunder believes that the reservoir is trying to kill him! Believes that, and actually fears that it is so! So crazy! The book is just a crazy, funny bunch of characters trying to do something that they really can't do! Fun to read! And funny ending too! Show Less
LibraryThing member eetzel
Not his best