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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2008 > July > 27 > Entry
James Lee Burke is at his Peak
James Lee Burke has written 26 novels. He is best known for his series about Dave Robicheaux, a Louisiana law enforcement officer who battles criminals and his own personal demons.
In last year’s “Tin Roof Blowdown,” Dave and his crime-fighting buddy Clete Purcell struggled to keep the peace amidst the chaos and destruction in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Burke’s latest book in this series, “Swan Peak,” finds Dave and Clete far away from their beloved Louisiana.
I asked Burke about his literary change of venue. He explained that “this is a post-Katrina story. Dave Robicheaux and his friend Clete Purcell go to Montana to forget some of the memories of New Orleans during the storm. But they discover in this Edenic world the canker’s still on the rose — the serpent’s still in the apple tree.”
Clete and Dave seek quiet moments fly fishing. As the story begins Clete pulls his Cadillac off the road to try his luck in a remote stream. It seemed like the perfect spot for trout. He finds trouble instead. A couple of tough guys in a pickup truck appear. They notify Clete that he is trespassing. He doesn’t take kindly to threats.
Then Clete recognizes one of the men. He was formerly employed by a gangster Clete once knew. This is our first indication that Dave and Clete must tread carefully. Their quiet vacation soon becomes a murder investigation.
Meanwhile, down in Texas, Jimmy Dale Greenwood is trying to plan his escape from the contract prison where he has been wrongly incarcerated. A sadistic guard named Troyce Nix has singled out Jimmy Dale for special treatment. Nix has to be the nastiest character to ever come out of the imagination of James Lee Burke.
I asked Burke about this cast of drifters and killers. He said “I think this book has the best characters I’ve written.” Each successive book impresses more than the one before. Burke quit going on book tours years ago. He noticed that his books sell even better since he stopped touring. He chuckles at the irony: “I never had to seek humility — it always found me.”
Over the course of several interviews I sought to explore Burke’s creative process. I wondered how he imagines the characters for his novels? He told me that “all the characters live in the unconscious but they have their antecedents someplace in people I’ve known one way or another.”
“I start off with someone in mind when I write. But that character changes. He takes on his own identity. He goes where he wants. He says what he wants. All writers say that. They become spectators and witnesses inside their own work.”
“Swan Peak” takes a scalding descent into fear and darkness which culminates in an act of miraculous redemption. Burke said “I’m really proud of this book. It’s the most engaging crime story I’ve written.”
Vick Mickunas
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