The Hot Rock

The First Dortmunder Novel

By: Donald E. Westlake

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 6 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

John Dortmunder and company are hired by an U.N. African Ambassador to steal the famed Balabomo Emerald from the hands of a rival African country. But their daring and clever burglarly goes awry, and the emerald slips through their fingers. Undaunted, Dortmunder chases the gem by plane, train and automobile in hot pursuit of the hot rock.

Listen to another Dortmunder caper.

©1970 Donald E. Westlake (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Westlake's novel comes awesomely close to the ultimate in comic, big-caper novels; it's so filled with…action and imagination." ( New York Times Book Review)

"Westlake is a master hand at the running gag….This Westlake brought on such a case of the laughing bends that I required decompression." ( Washington Post)

All-Time Top 100 Mysteries (Mystery Writers of America)

A Witty, Rollicking Caper

Where does The Hot Rock rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

As good an experience as any.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Hot Rock?

From the scene on which the first chapter ends, with the protagonist raising his hands and screaming, I knew I was in good hands.

Have you listened to any of Jeff Woodman’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but this was excellent.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No, but there were several occasions at which I laughed aloud, which, considering I was next to my sleeping wife, is impressive.

Any additional comments?

Just delightful.

Okay

Seen the movie, so of course I was curious how the book differed. Not too different, but enough to make it interesting. Not a bad story, nothing that I would go out of my way to listen to again.

Not what I expected

This really wasn't my thing, but I enjoyed it anyway.
Good story, quicker than I like.

Actually, let's make that 3 1/2 stars!

It is difficult to rate a book that just isn't your type of book, but you know that it could be a great read for a different type of listener. I have come to realize that I am just not into comedy capers and bumbling thugs like in The Hot Rock. However, if YOU are, this book may be right up your alley.

What is really strange is that as I started listening, I quickly realized that I already knew the story. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why--did I read the paperback or see the movie? Who knows? But it shows that twice, I decided that this book sounded fun and I wanted to experience it.

The narrator does strange things. You hear an African character speaking in what you have come to identify as an Indian accent (another reviewer calls it Pakistani). You hear what you think is a classic New York accent with shades of Ohio in it. The main character, Dortmunder, seems to have no accent at all.

If you can let this go and are looking for something light, with laughs, this book could be what you are looking for. I don't want to bash it. It just isn't my style.

Fun, funny, and very, very clever

There’s a reason there are a lot of books in this series. This is the novel that started it all.

Yes, at times it’s dated. Phone booths, leaving messages for people with bartenders, a wild run through an airport with no TSA or other security even noticing.

And yet it holds up. Holds together. Pulls you straight through. A fun yarn. Feels like it would make a great Guy Ritchie movie.

Absurdist comic caper

Would you listen to The Hot Rock again? Why?

I don't know that I'd listen to it again in a hurry, just because the plot isn't so subtle that you really need to re-read (or re-listen) again in a hurry. However, once I've had time to forget some specifics, I think it would be fun to re-listen.

What did you like best about this story?

It's one long series of near-misses that never quite veers into the slapstick. I enjoy that, and the heists planned by the characters are ingenious (and therefore delightful)

Which character – as performed by Jeff Woodman – was your favorite?

I think the narrator did a particularly good job with Stan Murch.

A quick aside on accents--other reviews have taken the narrator to task for having a 'Pakistani-sounding' couple of African characters. I disagree with them. I've never been to Pakistan, but I've lived, studied, visited, and worked in multiple African countries on different regions of the continent (as well has having friends from different areas as well), and the characters' accents to me sounded completely reasonable as approximations of East African accents. (Many of which are influenced by emigration from Southeast Asia)

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It would have been fine to listen to all in one sitting, but I split it up over a week.

Any additional comments?

The reason I gave this book less than 5 entire stars was because there's some racist/racist-leaning (as well as some sexist)language. (Africans are referred to as "ebony-colored" and "colored", for example). The book is a product of its time, and I understand that, but I'm not an apologist. The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is that I'm also not in favor of retroactively editing/censoring past works. Be warned--for all its lighthearted capering and absurdist, deadpan humor--the book talks about non-whites and non-women in a decidedly non-modern way.

Wonderful!

Might be my favorite Westlake ever! Sensational plot, funny, great voices. Excellent. Thanks to all.

Just didn't work for me at all

I was looking forward to this book quite a bit. I love a good series and one focusing on clever wise-cracking criminals could be great (Ocean's 11 anyone?) and it had really great reviews.

AND this is the first of a long series and it was written back in 1970, so you have to give it some slack. But not this much slack. The dialog was inane and repetitive and the "capers" weren't even all that great. I think if you read this many years ago (or saw the movie) there would be some fun revisiting it in audio form, but coming in new I didn't have that basis so I just took it on its own terms. Even though the book was pretty short it seemed much longer to me (but to be fair, I did want to see how it turned out).

Bottom line is that if you have fond memories of the book or the movie from decades ago you will probably love it. If not, maybe skip ahead to some of the more recent books in the series and see what you find.

Perfect Comedic Crime Book!

Donald Westlake is an absolute master of the comedic crime novel, which is fitting as he practically invented the genre. This book introduces Dortmunder and his gang, Westlake's greatest creations, in a fun, fast paced romp. the narration on this audio book is excellent as well, a performance worthy of the source material. Highest recommendation!

Clever ending

I loved this book and have become a true Dortmunder fan. I never expected that ending. So good!!!