Castle in The Air (Hard Case Crime, 148)

Like the title don’t judge the book by it’s cover. Castle in the Air is a very enjoyable quick read that played out like a comedy. You will be laughing at the absurdity and antics the characters get up to when trying to steal a castle filled with valuables. Think of it almost like an Oceans movie.My only gripe is it was too short. The plot progressed quickly for my taste. It was along the lines of meet the characters and boom they are in Paris about to steal the loot.

Crazed, comedic caper novels are Westlake’s forte and CASTLE IN THE AIR is a prime exemplar of his craft. A slimey dictator from a fictional South American country is being sought for extermination by the political left, while the political right is happy to allow him to escape, so long as he surrenders the totality of his ill-gotten gains. El Presidente has other plans; he will sequester his treasure in the stones of a local castle which will then be transported—piece by piece—to Paris for an international exhibition. He will attend and recapture the loot.A British criminal named Eustace Dench has other ideas. Linked with an informant from El Presidente’s country, he will assemble an international team of gonefs to steal the treasure, promising (halfheartedly) to return half to the country via his female informant. The international team which he summons for the task consists of Germans, Frenchmen/women, Italian men/women and Englishmen. Needless to say, no one trusts anyone and all are up for a major double-cross, even within their own national groups.Since all of the characters are hilariously stereotypical it is a short step to a bevy of now politically-incorrect belly laughs at their expense. The book reminds us of the comedic possibilities of 1980, something for which many now hunger (including a wide array of professional comedians, forced to take their wares away from contemporary college campuses).Westlake knows his Paris—the principal setting—and he knows the nuances of the languages which tend to lead to mutual incomprehension and more laughs at the uncomprehending speakers’ expense. He knows how to plot and he knows precisely how to craft a satisfying ending.This is a romp, pure entertainment, and largely harmless entertainment. There is no gore, no dark side, no explicit sex, just good, clean politically-incorrect fun. For that we can all be grateful.Thanks again to Charles Ardai for reissuing this lovely confection; we remain in his and HardCaseCrime’s continuing debt.

Westlake's "Castle in the Air," now being republished after four decades, is one of his wacky comedic crime caper stories which stand in sharp contrast to his hard-edged Parker novels. This one seems like it was originally thought of as a movie treatment.The idea is that the President of a fictional third-world republic is losing his grip on the country and has secreted enormous wealth in the flagstones of a castle. The castle is being taken apart piece by piece and shipped to Paris as part of a World's Fair type exhibition. In Paris, the devious el presidente and his wife are going to slowly tap into the hidden fortune in jewels. But, others from the little third world country have gotten wind of the operation and are going to intercept the stones and have engaged a crack team of thieves to do the job.Onward we go to small teams of crooks from Britain, Germany, and Italy, all speaking different languages and out to execute this devious plan to swipe a castle and make a fortune, the actual execution of which seems akin to the more recent movie, The Italian Job, but with a wacky cast of goofy stars in it.Overall, a mildly entertaining short novel that shows off Westlake's comedic touch.

This is a fast moving, funny story that would make a great movie, but Hollywood would probably screw it up like they've done with other Westlake adaptions (The Hot Rock being an exception). The thing about Westlake's humor is you have eccentric but serious people that get themselves involved in hilarious situations. The characters have to play it as straight as possible.This story is mostly about what happens after the big caper goes down. The moral, if there is one, might be that crime might not pay but it's more fun than whatever you're doing now.Not quite up to the standard of the Dortmunder books but still worth your time.

I love Donald Westlake (I'm a huge fan of his Parker novels under his Richard Stark pseudonym), so anything by him is an easy sell for me. I really enjoyed Castle in the Air. It is a clever stand alone heist novel with some really good, light dry humor. It's not the absolute best by Westlake, but it's still so, so good. I definitely recommend it.

This was a mistake, a book my wife ordered for our daughter that was supposed to be another book with a similar title. However, this is a hilarious, creative little novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you lived during the cold war years, or read any cold-war spy favorites, this may have more meaning for you. I need to explain that this is a book for adults, not teenagers, as there are some fairly risque bedroom scenes. But I found myself reading sections out loud to my wife, children, brother, parents, friends, etc...who all enjoyed the entertainment. A great little book!

I've read about 20 Westlake/Stark novels and am a big fan of both his prose and his humor. I found Castles in the Air fairly average -- not all that good, not all that bad. Despite what the marketing says, it's far from his funniest book. As others have noted, it really reads as if it started our as a script for a late 70s movie featuring a gaggle of B+ stars who were slowly heading toward the B.

Westlake says that he's never written a novel as a film treatment. Except this one, which is either a treatment or converted from a failed script. The one dimensional characters, the Tower of Babel dialogue, the settings - even the finale - all point to the big screen. Not a bad read, but no character development anywhere.David

It's a fun, light-weight and breezy read. Quite cinematic in its styling (to echo other reviewers here, was this a discarded film treatment?) and somewhat in the mood of 60s euro-heist flicks like "The Italian Job".Some good comedy moments but really, in a book that's under 200 pages, there's far too many characters to give them any real dimension beyond one-note. The premise is frankly ludicrous (and possibly beyond physical capability in the one or two days this book seems to be set across!) and Paris is reduced to the size of a carte postale the way everyone keeps instant travelling and bumping into each other so easily...Critique aside, it will gladly occupy a sunny afternoon (as it did me) with Westlake's snappy wit.

Well after I read the book that Stephen King wrote which was very good, I decided to buy this pile of muck,I don't like it at all, I blame King he said it was good but no it isn't

Bought it for my partner who is a Donald Westlake fan. He read it in one sitting.

Fun

The book is in great condition and shipping time was great.