The Main

Rating:
Summary: I loved it.
Review: I just wish that Trevanian was more prolific. All his books are readable and some are great. This one is great.

Rating:
Summary: Mature antihero
Review: I liked Trevanian's earlier works like Eiger Sanction, but their heroes tended to be a little too perfect, a little too James Bondian (Bond books, not movies!)
The Main features a much more interesting hero, an old French-Canadian cop who has failed in many ways and is definitely not hip to new trends in policing. He is a great street cop whose lifetime of prowling gives us an insider's view of the city.
The earlier works are thrillers, but this is a minor masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Story about a cop with a difference
Review: The Main is a fine novel. Set on the mean streets of a Canadian city this story follows a middle aged cop trying to keep with the times, to take care of the people his turf, solve crimes, and help his friends--not all of which is mutually compatible. It is book full of humanity and human weakness, expertly framed by great story telling. Another testament to the versatility of the author.

Rating:
Summary: A fine, fun book
Review: This is perhaps the strongest of Trevanian's works; maybe it does not quite reach "Shibumi"'s heights of fancy and excitement, but the characterisation is better, the characters themselves are more believable, the plot is less absurd, and the descriptions of the Main and its inhabitants are delightful. The plot revolves around the policeman of the old school who benevolently watches over The Main, a street in Montreal, with an iron fist and a gentle touch. LaPointe, a lieutenant in a force which has changed around him, though he has not, is caught up in a murder, the events surrounding which, drag him back and forth through his inner self, as he is forced to confront his mortality, the lack of personal love (though he is generically loved in his rôle as protector of the street) in his life, and a number events of his past. Even the bit players in this story are real, with histories and personalities which dictate how they act; and the revelation at the end of the plot will be a nice surprise, well concealed, though the clues are fairly given. Trevanian did a fine job with "The Main".