Thursday, November 5, 2009

Musings on Gash

English 597

Wade Thompson
Dr. Hunter Hayes
November 2, 2009

A Musing On Gash’s Lovejoy
I have to say, first off, that I have never been a fan of mysteries. In fact I don’t remember the last time that I ever read one. Perhaps it was the images of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes on television that turned me off, or that infernal Agatha Christie’s Murder She Wrote which was always playing on television whenever I was a kid. The only mysteries that I can remember tolerating were Perry Mason and occasional Matlock that my parents used to enjoy and thus was forced to watch. But at the moment I cannot precisely say whether or not I have ever actually read a mystery either. Perhaps it is my ignorance which is showing at this point, and I will admit to that. I am ignorant on several subjects, and usually if I am I choose to be because of some association with said item creates a distaste in my person for such things. So this semester when I learned that we had to do group presentations in English 597 over a subject in the crime noir area, my group picked Jonathan Gash’s Lovejoy series. At the time I didn’t mind because, like the other items on the list that we had to choose from, I didn’t know anything about it, thus making it equal to everything else. However, when I soon found in my possession several books from the series, saw the cheap paperback covers, the art, and found out from my professor that it was a mystery series, I soon became worried. Lovejoy is a mystery series, for crying out loud! I thought to myself. How was I going to handle this assignment with something that I had a distaste for? How?!
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But I had agreed, along with my group mates, to do the project so I decided to look at Lovejoy with a grain of salt. Think of it as a personal challenge if you will, but I was determined to see it through. So, with a little bit of hesitation, I plunged into the series by looking at Gash’s eleventh book in the series, Moonspender. I decided that by reading one of the middle books I could get an accurate representation and feel for them, the results of which will be found the further along into this essay.
One of the first things I noticed about the series is the sense of humor that the main character, Lovejoy, has. Though he may be a confidence man in the antique industry, which I was told, Lovejoy shows the intricate world in which he lives and works. For instance, on the first page of Moonspender Lovejoy tells the reader, “The story begins where I am making love to an ancient Chinese vase, on gangster’s orders, watched by eleven point two million viewers” (Gash 1). There are two things that need to be taken into consideration when reading this line. One, the obvious deprecating
sense of humor that is seen throughout his novels, and two, the seedy associations and social network in which Lovejoy operates within. As I look at these books to figure out what benefits they may have to the reader even I, someone who has no interest in mysteries, can see the value they have.
Now, let’s talk about those values.
Going back to Moonspender we see the character Lovejoy in the utter preposterousness that is his existence as an antiques dealer, in which a large chunk of the humor in Gash’s novels is centered upon. In the beginning of the novel Lovejoy is

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selling handkerchiefs outside that are supposed to be of Irish linen (Gash 1). The disparity of the situation in which Lovejoy puts himself in portrays the humor that is inherent in his character. I say this because the very act of selling perceived “antique” handkerchiefs on the street seems all to ludicrous and the fact that he is desperate enough to attempt such an act gives it a feeling that the author is lampooning the very antique dealing industry.
This lampooning of the antique industry is one of the central values of the series, as I was told to observe by a professor, as the series, and even in this novel, tends to depict a seedier social network when it comes to antiques. For instance, as one of the main devices in the novel, Lovejoy is fixed into being a judge for an antiques show by a gangster and his thugs who are high criminals in antiques dealing (Gash 13). This leads us back to where Lovjoy begins, about judging an ancient Chinese vase (22-3). After showing his ability in judging antiques Lovejoy is brought into a scheme with the antiques hoodlum and his thugs. But it is this humor which I believe draws people to the Lovejoy series, his cockney sense of style which permeates his ever being. One of the best instances of this in the novel is when he deals with Sir John, a person whom he owes money and services (Gash 62). Though it appears at first that the lord has the upper hand in using Lovejoy for his own services, the scandalous antiques dealer informs Sir John that he has acquisitioned a fake antique. However, much to Sir John’s dismay, he won’t tell him which one is the fake, thus risking the lord’s reputation when it comes to grandiose displays of his wealth (63). It is moments like these that show off Lovejoy’s

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surliness, his ability to poke fun at those who believe themselves above him in status or station. That is why I think this novel, along with the series, does justice to the genre in that there is always a series of beats, little conflicts, that keep the story moving along at an extraordinary rate, almost as fast as any film or television show. The world of antique dealing in which Lovejoy operates, a world of scheming, conniving, conning, and even sometimes violence, is represented throughout the novel, showing a side which most people have never known. And it is through such representation that I believe Gash’s Lovejoy series gives the mystery genre a steady, comforting feeling that can always be counted on by the reader. Though it is not the type of book that I will ever read, it is, nevertheless, a series that is worthwhile, at least for a momentary sense of enjoyment. Thank you.








Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Book Review / Spend Game & The Lives of Fair Ladies

Gash, Jonathan. The Spend Game: A Riveting Story of Murder in the Antiques Trade.
Penguin Group. New York. 1980.
The Lives of Fair Ladies. Penguin Group. New York. 1992.



Gash wrote several books in the Lovejoy Mystery Series. The books reviewed in this paper are number four, The Spend Game, and number fourteen, The Lives of Fair Ladies. Both books deal with an antiques dealer named Lovejoy, who restores, fakes, and authenticates antiques. Lovejoy is something of an antique diviner. He can spot a fake sometimes without even touching the piece. He lives a fast paced live style in which he is always broke, borrowing or swapping favors for money and food. Lovejoy is something of a detective who often knows clues without realizing he knows them. The answers to a riddle can be recognized at the last possible moment of hope, pulled reluctantly from memories he does not even know he has.
Both books have a great deal of detail regarding the life of an antiques dealer, scam artist, and lover. Lovejoy manages to have sex with almost every woman he wants without developing ties and is able to get by with having his women pay for both his upkeep and his business ventures. He does it in such a way that the reader understands that if he really had the money he would do it himself. While Lovejoy seems to be an antique addict who will spend his last dollar on something he feels is genuine, Gash does not portray Lovejoy as desperate, at least in the first novel.
The mystery in Spend Game begins with the death of one of Lovejoy’s acquaintances. It is a man Lovejoy knew while serving in the military, someone who once saved his life. Because the man, Leckie, once saved Lovejoy, Lovejoy feels an in ardent amount of responsibility to find Leckie’s killer. The story progresses nicely; although, the mystery is never really hidden from the reader. We can know the killers, and their reasoning, while Gash manages to keep their quest hidden for a while. It is Gash’s treatment of female characters through the book that is interesting. The voice of Lovejoy narrates throughout the entire story and he speaks often of women in a voice that while slightly disparaging also allows the reader to understand the importance of women in his life.
Lovejoy uses phrases like “Women have this instinctive ability to judge…”(29), “That’s the trouble with women.” (115), and “They glow with chemotactic radiation. You can’t take your eyes off them.” (110). Still, even though Lovejoy praises the aspects of women, he is often brutal and abusive stating “When you’ve blacked a bird’s eye you can’t look straight at them like you normally do” (87). Further, Lovejoy is often yelling at some woman or other who never seems to mind.
In this book, women admire him, men fear him if he isn’t given the answers he is seeking because Lovejoy will quickly turn to violence saying; “I decided to start by breaking a couple of fingers, one on Nodge and then one on old George.” (90). In this early book, Gash seems to allow Lovejoy to be a lover of life, truth, antiques, and women of all ages. He speaks kindly of women of all ages, especially older women stating; “That’s why I like older women. They never make mistakes the way younger ones do.” (41).
In the end, Lovejoy manages to denounce the killers, kill a few men himself, find the valuable antique and get the woman. He is a little worse for wear but still seems to be at the top of his game. He retains agility, affection for women and a desire to right the wrongs around him.
In The Lies of Fair Ladies we can see a different Lovejoy. Gash seems to loose some of the unique quality of Lovejoy’s voice, the book is more commercial and Lovejoy has less banter with himself about women and no banter with women. He no longer uses love words when addressing the women in his life. He now calls them “stupid cow”, “dingy old crone”, “silly cow”, “stupid old mare”, and “stupid bitch”.
Lovejoy comes across as much more jaded and mean spirited. His associates are no longer just people trying to make a living, but criminal instead of misunderstood businessmen and women. The narrator is no longer light spirited and the banter (when there is some) is dark and depressed. In Spend Game Lovejoy is affected by the death of his friend but he is not brought to tears. He is beaten up but not beaten down. In The Lies of Fair Ladies, Lovejoy cries hysterically at the death of his friend and takes his beating lying down.
Most of the women Lovejoy comes across in The Lies of Fair Ladies are lesbian or bi-sexual. He longs for a typical woman yet risks everything to save Connie from certain death. Lovejoy remains a hero in this book; however, when he is allowed out of the hospital, there is no welcoming committee, no party, and no one to great him at home. He must find his own cab and then goes out looking for his friends because he is certain they are through him a hero’s party.
This book is sad on so many levels. Lovejoy trusts his partner Luna who turns out to be a traitor. He trusts Laura, who happens to be Luna’s daughter and possibly the only friend he has left (although he still feels betrayed). Connie, whom he saves, ends up with another man, and Lovejoy is left friendless, with a woman he doesn’t trust, and broke. In the end, after having sex with Laura while Luna bangs away at the door, Lovejoy exclaims; “It’s a woman’s world, and that’s not my fault.” (263).
There is a twelve year gap between the first book and the second which may account for the change in the narrator’s voice. Obviously, people change within a twelve year span. Lovejoy has become jaded, soured on people and life and bent on his criminal activities. Still, the time span aside, I much preferred the easy going, light hearted, lover of Spend Game, to the less likeable, rougher, meaner Lovejoy of The Lies of Fair Ladies”.