Pity Him Afterwards

by Donald E. Westlake

Hiding in the darkness of the trees, he was waiting for the state police car to move on, but it would not. Red lights filled the road below, flashlights began to search the woods around him. But he would not go back to Doctor Chax. He could take no more shocks. No more dying, day after day, and coming to life in pain. Whatever it takes, he will be free.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

185 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Donald E. Westlake (1933-2008) was one of the most prolific and talented authors of American crime fiction. He began his career in the late 1950's, churning out novels for pulp houses—often writing as many as four novels a year under various pseudonyms such as Richard Stark—but soon began publishing under his own name. His most well-known characters were John Dortmunder, an unlucky thief, and Parker, a ruthless criminal. His writing earned him three Edgar Awards: the 1968 Best Novel award for God Save the Mark; the 1990 Best Short Story award for "Too Many Crooks"; and the 1991 Best Motion Picture Screenplay award for The Grifters. In addition, Westlake also earned a Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1993.

Westlake's cinematic prose and brisk dialogue made his novels attractive to Hollywood, and several motion pictures were made from his books, with stars such as Lee Marvin and Mel Gibson. Westlake wrote several screenplays himself, receiving an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Grifters, Jim Thompson's noir classic.

Some of the pseudonyms he used include
•   Richard Stark
•   Timothy J. Culver
•   Tucker Coe
•   Curt Clark
•   J. Morgan Cunningham
•   Judson Jack Carmichael
•   D.E. Westlake
•   Donald I. Vestlejk
•   Don Westlake

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Before his sickness", he said, "his IQ was rated at 168. That puts him in the genius class. Economic pressures forced him into a job that would have frustrated an IQ of 120. That was one of the reasons he eventually wound up here. This man is more to be pitied than hated."

This is a crime novel written in 1964, but also a character study of a man with mental illness who strikes out with violence. The author shields the true identity of the MC for most of the novel only referring to him as "the Madman", and often lets us know that he is able to take on other identities for short periods of time. The madman escapes from an asylum and makes his way to a small summer enclave and takes on the identity of one of the actors hired for a summer stock season there. He is happy as the others have accepted him in this group. But his happiness is short-lived as the "being" that lurks within causes big-time trouble: murder. That begins his fight with staying in control and keeping the other locked away.
It's up to a summer only law enforcement officer and his small staff to ferret out the murderer.

Songard looked at the letters and felt a sudden rush of pity. A poor bewildered mind had scrawled out those words, and Songard had no doubt they were sincere. A plea for forgiveness.

You know, this may seem an odd thing to say, with poor Eddie Cranshaw hardly cold, but I think I feel sorry for that man. I could almost see him just now, as you were describing his movements, and he's really a sad and forlorn figure.

Do not follow your impulses regardless of the consequences (the madman thought), it was because he had followed his impulses that he had wound up in the asylum in the first place. He had learned since then, and he was determined to profit from his learning. Follow your impulses only when you can be sure there will be no consequences. Plan. Act. Do not let your impulses make you be untrue to yourself. But be clever.

The madman fidgeted, frightened. He couldn't lose control now, this mindless being within him would give the whole game away, would be obvious and blatant and stupid. There was no cleverness in it. The madman couldn't lose control now without losing everything.

If a madman were to come into this room with a stick in his hand, no doubt we should pity the state of his mind; but our primary consideration would be to take care of ourselves. We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards. Samuel Johnson

[Robert]

This book didn't really work for me, though I can imagine that others might not feel the same way. A multiple murderer has escaped from a "secure" psychiatric facility. His continued psychological problems lead to further killings...

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[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty different from the typical Westlake vibe— instead of a darkly comedic crime story, a taut thriller about a lunatic killer run amok. This isn’t my favorite Westlake mode, but he writes with confidence, brevity, and plenty of suspense.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review contains substantial spoilers. I wanted to love this book. I really did. And, after 40 pages, I thought I would. At first, the plot centers around a homicidal psychotic who has escaped from an asylum. He kills a man who picks him up hitchhiking, and he decides to hide out by assuming the dead man's identity. The dead man was an actor on his way to work in a summer stock theater, so that is what our psycho will do. He'll be an actor! How hard could that be? So far, so good. But the book loses its way. Part of the problem is that psychotics aren't nearly as interesting as psychopaths, especially in whodunit fiction. Psychopaths behave logically, so it can be fascinating (and frightening!) to see how they puzzle out solutions to their problems. Psychotics, on the other hand, are erratic and out of touch with reality, so while their behavior can be dramatic and surprising, they're not interesting in the way that psychopaths are. But the novel's big misstep is its shift in focus to an English professor who works as a cop during the summer. He's a disaster as he tries to figure out, logically, how to capture an illogical killer. To maker matters worse, prof-cop is slow to call the real police (result = carnage), and when a real cop arrives, he praises prof-cop for having done an outstanding job. "I can't think of anything I'd of done different," he says, "and there's one or two excellent things you did I wouldn't of even thought of." Donald E. Westlake is famed for his comic capers, but that may be the funniest sentence he ever wrote.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second Westlake book I’ve read and can’t get him above three stars. I find him exhaustive in detail. This novel is very dated and an unrealistic representation of mental health and serial killing. I confess I didn’t finish.

[John Marr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one proves the fact that yes, there is such a thing as third-rate Westlake. This little tale of a psycho killer infiltrating a summer stock theater company is pleasant enough, and the occasional touches of Westlakian humor are nice. But Westlake newbies will wonder about what the excitement is about, and for very good reason: there really isn't much here. Hell, even Babe Ruth an strike out....

[Banjo Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure what I expected, I went in pretty much blind (don't think I even read the blurb?), but this turned out to be a truly excellent psychological thriller.

Did some very interesting things I don't think I've ever seen before in a book, and all very elegantly written besides a couple of typographical errors. The ending was a tad abrupt, but not nearly as much as some - and abruptness isn't always a bad thing, anyway.

[Eduardo Ramos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps the least accomplished Westlake novel so far, his early soft-porn stuff included. A whodunit defused by revealing the killer from the start, both formulaic and confusing and with a caricatural depiction of the "insane mind" straight out of 30s pulp. Good points inclued most wisecrack dialogue and, as often on Westlake, the portrayal of the theatrical millieu in the 60s.

[Jeff Messerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Early Westlake...what you have here is a writer finding his voice and bearings...moves at a solid clip although it is certainly a product of its time...the “shocking” elements far diminished by today’s standards. Fun ride, worth a quick read on a rainy day!

[James S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apprentice work, full of implausibilities and coincidence.

[Jayw]

Older Westlake and serious. Nut case on the loose murdering innocents after escaping the asylum