SPOILERS!! THE GLASS RAINBOW ending and plot discussed here

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks, Trylon. I never see more than two or three scenes ahead in a book. I've always felt that art, at least for me, is more a matter of incremental discovery rather than creation.

I appreciate the post.


Best,

Jim

[TerryTyson]

I finished GR last evening and read the final chapter again this morning. I was relieved that my initial take on things held true in the sunlight.

If one goes onto the steamboat, they both go. In this case, Clete brought Dave back to the shore. The loyalty displayed between these two touches my heart and always seems to be one of the sources of hope in Robicheaux's often bleak universe. Certainly, there will be many more instances in which Clete can get into trouble and Dave can offer redemption to the misguided as he seeks out his own.

Well done, Mr. Burke. The ending was superb.

Note: I listen to the audio versions during my commute and read the paper version in the evenings. This allows me to go back to savor particularly good parts after Mr. Patton has delivered his excellent readings. Of course, I hear Patton in my head while I am later reading the words.

[jamesleeburke]

Thanks, Mr. Tyson.

Best,

Jim

[sheaterracin]

I lived in the quarter in New Orleans in the eighties and loved every minute of it. I fell in love with JLBs writing because of my feeling for the city and surrounding areas - I have never known anyone who could write about New Orleans the way he can. When I read the ending I was stunned and am still stunned. I immediately wanted to reread it again but instead began rereading the series from the start. JLB has abruptly changed characters before like when Bootsie died and his father's house burned down - maybe this will indeed open the door to Alifair going into law enforcement and I didn't get the feeling that Clete had died. How about Clete and Alifair teaming up and Dave making appearances as a guiding spirit, much the way Annie did for a while.

[Trylon]

I suspect that some readers who are fans of James Lee Burke are also fans of the book series by Randy Wayne White. The hero of that series is call Doc Ford, and his soulmate is called Tomlinson. Also of the Vietnam generation, their male bond is much the same as Dave and Clete - they would take a bullet for each other. We all pine for unconditional friendship (love) at that depth.

Jim, and others, have you read Randy White's book entitled =Captiva=? White first completed what he imagined would be a trilogy of Doc Ford books. But the series continues. This one - published in 1996 - is book number four. It bears such resemblance to =The Glass Rainbow= that I sincerely hope Jim and others in this forum will take the time to read it.

In this fiction genre, I regard Jim as "The King" - even when I think he has fumbled. His mastery of stream of conscience in relation to the angst of =the human condition= is matchless. But, we should give Randy Wayne White his propers.

Sometimes I like to imagine Jim Burke spending quality time with Randy White - boat fishing in the Florida Keys.
Trylon

[susanne_917]

Hello

Writing from Houston...have been a huge fan for many years....I just finished the Glass Rainbow and loved it !! I may have missed something here but I am not sure who all of the killers were...Who killed Stanga? Layton? the two young girls? I am pretty sure the warden killed the cousin of one of the girls but who put him up to it? regards from one of your biggest fans

[jamesleeburke]

I thought everything was there. Maybe not. As Dave says, people usually kill for reasons of money, sex, and power. The candidates in the book are few actually.

I hope you keep enjoying the novels and stories.

Best,

Jim

[Maxime]

5 AM, I've just re read the last 2 pages of The Glass Rainbow, it's like my head has been struck with a hammer and I said to myself "là, mon vieux Max, je crois que c'est fini". No, there must have been something I didn't understand, I 've got to re read again...
I'm French, I live in a little town, Mezieres, which is about 8 km south of Orleans (the Old one !), France. The first time I heard about Dave Robicheaux was in 2000. I went back in France after 2 weeks holidays in Louisiana with a name on my mind : James Lee Burke. Since that day, I've read everything written by you Mr Burke (thanks to Amazon to have the books in English). Through your writtings I still can feel sounds, images, smells, colors, fragrances from Louisiana. During these holidays my wife and I have spent one day in New Iberia, (I didn't know at that time...) and one night in Batou Teche Motel (the one in B. Tavernier's film). I bought The Glass Rainbow 2 weeks during holidays in New York and throwing myself in the novel was like living again these times I enjoyed in America.
I would have never thought that the death of a novel character could upset me this point.
I'm Hack and Billy Bob, Clete and Dave (and the others) addicted. I'm waiting for your next novel Mr Burke, more than ever...
Maxime.

[Trylon]

JIm,
Thank you for your reply. I am not sure, however, what to make of it.

JLB: I never see more than two or three scenes ahead in a book. I've always felt that art, at least for me, is more a matter of incremental discovery rather than creation.

One of the most common pieces of advice to wannabe writers, from authors and workshops and Writer's Digest tomes is: "Envision and write the ending FIRST". This is like putting the tall flag in the hole for the golf ball. The ending should define the principal challenge for both the writer and the character(s) who have either succeeded or failed to overcome adversity. It should enable story closure for the reader and, it is to be hoped, a sense of satisfaction. Perhaps this process becomes less important as a writer gains in experience, and especially with recurring characters.

I recall one of the first books by Jeffrey Deaver. Some three quarters through the book the eventual death of a character became imminent, a gone conclusion. The text was a peregrine falcon diving at 250 mph towards this event. But the final chapter turned into a deus ex machina. Further,it was written in a literary style detectably different from the rest of the book. My impression was that some editor saw a loss of economic value with the author's ending, and exercised some contract authority. That circumstance seriously put me off Deaver. It was ten years before I tried him again.

Another interesting author-reader matter is the =suspension of disbelief=. For me the two issues are "how much" and "when". Show me a book about Nazi Germany where the fuhrer is Brunhilda Heitler and I'll shoot myself before being forced to read it. Second, the need for a reader to suspend disbelief should be as front loaded as possible. Once upon a time a neighbor in an apartment came nervously knocking upon my door. "I heard a loud crash against our shared wall," she said. I apologized and told her I had gotten 3/4 through a lengthy book when the author expected me to suspend disbelief. I had thrown the heavy book against the damn wall. "Ha, ha, I am NOT a nun," the man says to the bus driver (to borrow an old dirty joke).
Trylon

[pamala]

So JLB doesn't have to monitor the whole forum, please direct future comments and questions to him in the Comments for JLB category. Also, let's keep this thread on topic.