Sun 18 Feb 2018
Reviewed by Barry Gardner: MARTIN GREENBERG, Editor – The TONY HILLERMAN Companion.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Reference works / Biographies , Reviews[5] Comments
MARTIN GREENBERG, Editor – The Tony Hillerman Companion. HarperCollins, hardcover, 1994; paperback, 1995.
Well, the photo on the dust jacket finally provided confirmation from my wife — Tony Hillerman and I resemble each other. I think it’s the ears.
The Companion contains several sections, the first two being a book-by-book synopsis of Hillerman’s detective novels by Jon Breen, and then a lengthy 1993 interview with Hillerman by Breen. Then there is an article chosen by Hillerman on the Navajos, a section on Navajo Clan names, and then the longest section of the book, 200 pages of character concordance.
The book ends with several short non-fiction pieces by Hillerman, and three of his short stories. There are also several pages of photos, in which he manages to resemble me two or three times.
For a real aficionado of Hillerman’s books this would be indispensable, and for anyone interested in them at all very enjoyable. Breen is an excellent interviewer, obviously thoroughly familiar with Hillerman’s work and with a great appreciation of it.
The Navajo material was interesting, as were Hillerman’s non-fiction pieces — the part of the book most likely to be new to his fans. The Concordance was the least interesting to me, and I think likely to any but his most involved fans. At $25 a throw I’d say it’s best read from the library for all but his most enthusiastic followers, but for them it will be a treasure.
February 19th, 2018 at 7:22 pm
A writer I read and enjoy, but oddly one I never became involved with in the way I do many writers and series. I don’t know why, it’s just that way.
February 19th, 2018 at 10:37 pm
Not so odd, David, unless we both are. I’ve enjoyed the one or two Hillerman books I’ve read, but I’ve never felt much of an urgency to read another.
February 20th, 2018 at 10:51 pm
I do not wish to leave this post with only two comments, both only so-so in terms of the work of Tony Hillerman. If you are a fan of his, this book sounds as though it’s one written just for you, even though it’s out of date at this much later point in time.
The big omission, of course, are the seven additional novels Hillerman wrote in his Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee series after this book came out. (And his daughter Anne has written four more, and if updated, a revised companion should include those too.)
February 23rd, 2018 at 9:02 pm
I did become very “involved†with the Navajo series and enjoyed greatly his non-series Fly on the Wall. Back when Bouchercons were small, I had several nice conversations with Tony. In my first, I told him my favorite novel of his was Fly on the Wall. He said I bet you were once a state house reporter (meaning state capital beat reporter). I confessed I was in Atlanta for some years. He said that was the one group which favored Fly as the hero was one of their own. Tony IIIRC covered two state capitals.
He was a delightful man and in conversation and talks to groups could be laugh out loud funny.
February 23rd, 2018 at 11:32 pm
Richard
I remember liking FLY ON THE WALL quite a bit myself, but your story about it is lot better than mine. (I don’t have any.)
PS. Good to hear from you!