Early Autumn

By: Robert B. Parker

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

“[Robert B.] Parker's brilliance is in his simple dialogue, and in Spenser.” (The Philadelphia Inquirer)

A bitter divorce is only the beginning. First the father hires thugs to kidnap his son. Then the mother hires Spenser to get the boy back. But as soon as Spenser senses the lay of the land, he decides to do some kidnapping of his own.

With a contract out on his life, he heads for the Maine woods, determined to give a puny 15 year old a crash course in survival and to beat his dangerous opponents at their own brutal game.

©1992 Robert B Parker (P)2009 Random House

As Good As It Gets!

Parker's Spenser novels never disappoint, but this one is better than most. Not only entertaining, but full of wisdom and heart.

better audio required

The audio was sketchy. I had to turn it up and down all the time

Enjoyed it

Going back and listening to books I read as a kid. The story hold up to time quite well.

My favorite Spenser book.

This isn't my favorite reader of the main character (Joe Montagna holds that place in my heart), but what I really like here is the way he manages to make Paul sound less and less whiny as the book proceeds. He does a good job of portraying the growing up that takes place over the course of the novel.

Spenser as Surrogate Parent

Where does Early Autumn rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of my favorite Robert Parker books and Robert Parker is one of my favorite audio book authors. This plot is different, because there isn't a murder mystery to be solved, but a complicated issue of seeing to it that a neglected, young boy is prepared to lead life as an adult---and, then, unraveling the sordid pasts of his parents so that he can live as he wishes with no interference from his miserable, self-absorbed mother and father. I loved this book.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Early Autumn?

The moment when Spenser admonishes Susan and tells her not to be "ordinary: because she's jealous of the time he has spent away from her. I enjoyed the fact that her reaction to Spenser's absorbing attempt to care for Paul (who appears in later books) was selfish and self-absorbed. I enjoyed the fact that Paul understands that she resents him. And I enjoyed the fact that she does "come around" but only with limitations. Parker does not go for the stereotypical "feel good" solutions.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene occurred when Spenser tells Paul that he was right about his plan for the boy's future and Paul asks, "What..do you want a Nobel Prize?" The "smart" response showed his increase in self-confidence and his adaptation of Spenser's repartee for his own personality.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Jog a mile, punch the bag, expand your mind...grow up!

One of the Best

Spencer is his typical wisecracking, head cracking self in this one. Unlike his usual cases in this one Spencer takes on a neglected child. The time and interaction between the two of them are what the kid needs most after a lifetime of being ignored by both parents. Thankfully the amount of time devoted to Susan Silverman in this book is limited. The over the top affection everyone feels for her for no apparent reason; particularly Spencer, gets tiring. Hawk appears in his similarly one dimensional role that seems to be perfect for the genre; he's the perfect weapon. the climatic showdown scene in which he does what Spencer can't; do what has to be done is prototypical Hawk. If you like Spencer this is one of the best choices

Narration

Pritchard has gotten a LOT better at narrating the Spenser books! Thank heaven! Much more natural than the early ones.

great book

loved it thought it was great, I love the morals he has. tough love, but good parenting.

The narrator's style was wrong for the Spencer character

Loved this story - one of my favorites.

However, I really missed someone similar to Chazz Palminteri or Joe Pantolano (actors, if I've misspelled their names). This narrator didn't have a Boston / New England accent, and was distracting vs. complimentary to the storyline.

Probably the best Spenser book

Spenser is hired by Patty Giacomin to find and retrieve her son, Paul, who has been abducted by her ex-husband. Spenser soon realizes that 15-year-old Paul is being used as a weapon in a fierce and unrelenting battle between the Giacomins, neither of whom actually care much about him. Spenser decides to take care of the boy himself, and to attempt to teach him to become autonomous. This creates a certain amount of tension between Spenser and Susan, and a certain amount of danger for Spenser, who discovers that Mel Giacomin has mob connections.

Most of book contains two story lines: Spenser's efforts to find a way to get Paul out of the battle between his parents, and his teaching of Paul to become an independent person at a very young age.

In my opinion, the best part of the story is the work of Spenser to teach young Paul how to deal with the disasters of his family life and prevent them from consuming him.

If you like Spenser, you should find this book very enjoyable; swiftly paced, well-written, and full of telling and enjoyable details.