The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Goodbye to All That

8.30.04 @ 12:01AM

TRAVIS TREAT
Re: Lawrence Henry's Travis McGee Says a Long Goodbye:

Many thanks for Mr. Henry's thesis on the last of the Travis McGee books by the incomparable John D. MacDonald. Discovering and reading these tales has been one of the consolations of middle age for me. Fans should also become familiar with Robert E. McGinnis cover art for the original paperbacks, which are as evocative of the "sexy Sixties" as they are of the titles.

I have one bone to pick with Mr. Henry's analysis, though -- I find I re-read The Lonely Silver Rain fairly frequently, as one of the best books in the series. Not because I'm a guurl and swoon on the daughter reunion, but because the perspective on human violence is raw, the image of the allegedly respectable "community business leaders" suddenly reaping the whirlwind in a drug war is Sophoclean in its intensity, and some of the most remarkable prose of McDonald's career is displayed. Offhand, I happen to like:

"Cap'n Davenport," he said.

"Wes, this is McGee. Travis McGee."

"You kilt someone again, pardner?"

"I've managed to hold back."

"Builds character."

Nuts. Now I may have to start a re-read from the top...
-- Alexandra Haropulos
Rockville, Maryland

Thanks to Lawrence Henry for making my week! What a treat to relive the exploits of McGee and the superb writing of John D. MacDonald, not to mention the winding down of the McGee saga! I'm a MacDonald fan since the '60s and have read and reread just about everything the master wrote; my dog eared shelf of paperbacks bear me witness. What a storyteller! What an incisive analyst of human nature! He is indeed missed.
-- Frank Stevenson

My husband & I share in Mr. Henry's love affair with Trav McGee (and we always wanted to name a male dog Meyer the Hairy Economist -- maybe we still will). My in-laws introduced us to McGee & MacDonald, through books on tape of all things. We borrowed a couple to take on a road trip and were completely entranced, not just by Travis and the pace and style of MacDonald's writing, but also by Darrin McGavin, who reads all the Trav books. When we began reading the books themselves, we heard McGavin's voice, especially when McGee's women spoke... McGavin had an absolutely charming falsetto he used whenever he read the words "Oh Trav!"

As brilliant as McDonald and his McGee stories are, McGavin's reading of them is equally so... he truly inhabits the role, and becomes the voice of Travis McGee. The "I'm reading a book to you" quality of the whole books on tape genre completely disappears here... listening to McGavin gave me the same engrossed satisfaction as actually reading the books myself (which is really hard to do!).

My husband and I had always hoped someone would option some of the books for film... what wonderfully fun movies they'd make! But we always knew we'd be disappointed with whoever they'd cast as Trav... no one would have That Voice, and so he could never truly be Travis McGee.

Thanks for a great article... I've been looking for something to read, and I think I'll start with McGee again, from the beginning!
-- Julie Sweeney
Wausau, Wisconsin

"The Long Goodbye" is the name of a novel by the superb noir writer Raymond Chandler, whose works, although sometimes uneven, never fail to stun me with their dark beauty. When you finish with MacDonald, by all means try Chandler!
-- Michel Fleuette

Letter to the Editor

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