The Easiest Thing In the World: The Unpublished Fiction of George V. Higgins

Rating:
Summary: Vintage George Higgins Writing in Small Bites
Review: If you have been a fan of George Higgins's writing, you probably know that he had an unerring ability to tell a story, capture the state of mind of the teller, and provide an unexpected reward at the end of the story by tying seemingly disconnected story skeins together. In The Easiest Thing in the World, those qualities are present in all of their glory.

None of the material has been published in the U.S. before. Chances are that each novella, novelette, short story and script treatment will be new to you. Three of the short stories were published in London before in The Sins of the Fathers. The Habits of Animals: The Progress of the Seasons is reprinted from The Best American Short Stories of 1973. Old Earl Died Pulling Traps was previously published in a limited collector's edition of 300 copies.

The stories involve the usual criminals, slightly sleazy attorneys, seedy characters, harried cops and DA's, and cheating spouses. But the stories also introduce highly original, quirky characters that seem to spring naturally from New England's northern rocky soil.

What is most impressive about the book is that the work is uniformly of high quality. With so many brief stories, Higgins also has a chance to better sneak up on you with his surprises than he can in a novel. I found myself being bitten by unexpected plot developments from all directions, almost like Maine's black flies in June except for being far more pleasant.

My favorite offering in the book was The Last Wash of the Teapot. This story made me think of how Faulkner might have written about small New England towns. The Devil Is Real was a close second in my estimation for its subtle development of the nature of evil.

I found myself hoping that someone will take the concept from Jack Duggan's Law and develop a television series from it. Duggan is a fascinating character who would overshadow Boston Blackie in such a series.

As a masterpiece in relating one's history and that of one's family and community, few stories can hope to compete with Slowly Now the Dancer.

The first two stories in the book are companion pieces, The Easiest Thing in the World and The First of the Year, in the expected Higgins crime groove. I'm sure they were selected to open the book because they come closest to meeting the expectations of those who loved The Friends of Eddie Coyle, Digger's Game, and Cogan's Trade.

An End to Revels is one of those stories that brutally unmasks the hypocrisy that allows the world to function . . . and asks whether or not it's a good idea to take the mask off.

Life Was Absolutely Swell is one of those white collar crime stories that will stay with you for quite a while.

If you ever doubted that Mr. Higgins had a strong sense of irony and humor, be sure to enjoy The Heroic Cat in the Bag. It's a masterpiece!

I encourage you to take your time reading this volume. If you have already read the best of George Higgins that had been published previously, this will be your last new treat of his writing.

Another benefit of this volume is a thoughtful introduction by Robert B. Parker that helps put Higgins in perspective as a crime writer.