King wrote a cool 15-page introduction to the book and was along to help Don move a few copies. My impression of the two men was that Robertson was a bit shy and introverted in comparison to King, but I suppose that most authors are. Sadly Mr. Robertson is no longer with us.
The Ideal Genuine Man is described this way (via this excerpt from the book jacket):
Set in Houston - a Houston which in Robertson's hands becomes a simmering nightmare landscape - it is the story of Herman Marshall, a retired truckdriver whose wife is dying of cancer and who is himself trying to come to grips with the fact of his own old age in a society where the elderly are discarded like empty beer-cans.I haven't read the novel since 1988, but just handling the book today has convinced me that it deserves to be reread and talked about again. More later...
3 comments:
I missed seeing Stephen King at a convention here in Ottawa - it was in 1985, I think, and I moved here in 1986. I would have loved to have heard him talk about his writing! How lucky you are to have a photograph and have gone to a book signing with him.
I wonder if Bybee has read this book, she loves Don Robertson's other books so much and has convinced me to try one. I'm due to read it soon, I think.
I got kind of lucky and saw King later in London, Susan, including a long, one-on-one, interview he did in one of the city's large halls. Coincidentally, both times, I was wearing Boston Red Sox headgear and he spent a long time talking baseball with me...especially in London when he was dying to get the previous day's scores and I had them. He's a funny guy.
Wow, great picture. I'm a big fan of King's work and would love to meet him but doubt I ever will!
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