An astute comment from a bartender at the original Strouds on 85th Street in Kansas City, MO. That old pan-fried chicken roadhouse with its sloping wooden floors and the old African-American gent pounding out stride piano is, alas, no longer with us.
The bartender was commenting on James Lee Burke's "Jolie Blon's Bounce." Well, actually he was referring to the Cajun protagonist, Dave Robicheaux.
I agreed, I liked Robicheaux better when he was even more flawed, deeply lost in the bottle.
As we talked, and I drank, I realized that the bartender's comment could also apply to Matt Scudder, created by Lawrence Block. Matt's a hardened, cynical New Yorker who used to fight off the drink demons himself.
I like a man with weaknesses.
Paige