The start of something beautiful

books:


	• The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep (The Armchair Detective Library) Lawrence Block Otto Penzler Books, 1994 - 198 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews
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highly recommended

Fun read!

Keller and Scudder are great characters with great stories. Now I can add Evan Tanner to the list. This is the first book in the Tanner series and it's a blast! Keeping in mind that it was written in the mid-1960's (note the political and geographical references), it's a great "road' book (in a manner of speaking). Like Ian Fleming's "entertainments" starring James Bond, this book is not meant to be taken seriously, but simply meant to provide several hours of reading enjoyment. And it does! Don't miss this one!!

A unique fictional character

I saw Lawrence Block on comedian Craig Ferguson's Late, Late Show and immediately resonated to his whimsical personality. Because Ferguson said Block was one of his favorite authors, I knew Block had to be something special. Amazon revealed that there were numerous Lawrence Block characters, so I started with one whose title appealed to me, being interested in the psychology of sleep.

It turned out that "Tanner," the main character of this amusing tale, is a totally unique fictional character. I was immediately taken by his perverse penchant for joining lost causes, such as the Flat Earth Society and restoration of the monarchies in various countries.

As the story develops it is not at all clear what kind of character Tanner really is. Is he a spy? Or an adventurer? A revolutionary? A con man of the highest level? And indeed by the end of the story one is still not sure.

But whatever he is, I remained totally engrossed and amused until the end. A character this unique deserves high praise.

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The start of something beautiful

The first Evan Tanner Novel, where our hero, a bit of a con-man and thief, who has a disorder which prevents him from sleeping, accidentally finds himself on an espionage mission.

While the later novels are spy stories with satirical overtones, this one is a crime caper with spies in pursuit and a comedy of errors in progress.

I can't recommend the series highly enough. It's literate, it's funny, and the commentary on European ethnic nationalism is still extremely valid.

Block introduces Evan Tanner

My first introduction to Lawrence Block's Evan Tanner was in his 1998 book, "Tanner on Ice." The spy-hero had been absent for twenty-five years was brought back by Block. There were seven previous novels, all out-of-print and now available in paperback. "The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep," was Block's first Evan Tanner mystery. We learn early in this first work Tanner had his sleep center destroyed during the war and therefore no longer needs to sleep. He spends all of his time awake that may or may not be to his benefit. Tanner probably never planned on being a spy but here in our first encounter with him he led a revolution in Macedonia treks from Ireland to the continent and across Europe to Turkey in search for missing gold. Tanner is an interesting character although not as humorous as Bernie Rhodenbarr in Block's The Burglar who series or a serious as Matt Scudder in the long standing series with that New York City based detective. None the less "The Thief who Couldn't Sleep," is pleasant to read. I am pleased that the powers-that-be decided to reprint the entire Evan Tanner series. I am looking forward to the others, which I was able to order from Amazon.com.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Evan Tanner had never planned to be a spy--he had just been looking for some missing gold--any more than he had planned to lead a Macedonian revolution or find himself jailed in a Turkish prison.

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