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Job's Year
Fictional Novel, Literary Fiction
Paperback
First published December 31, 1983
46 people want to read
About the author
Joseph Hansen
133 books158 followersJoseph Hansen (1923–2004) was an American author of mysteries. The son of a South Dakota shoemaker, he moved to a California citrus farm with his family in 1936. He began publishing poetry in the New Yorker in the 1950s, and joined the editorial teams of gay magazines ONE and Tangents in the 1960s. Using the pseudonyms Rose Brock and James Colton, Hansen published five novels and a collection of short stories before the appearance of Fadeout (1970), the first novel published under his own name.
The book introduced street-smart insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter, a complex, openly gay hero who grew and changed over the series’s twelve novels. By the time Hansen concluded the series with A Country of Old Men (1990), Brandstetter was older, melancholy, and ready for retirement. The 1992 recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Hansen published several more novels before his death in 2004.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
The book introduced street-smart insurance investigator Dave Brandstetter, a complex, openly gay hero who grew and changed over the series’s twelve novels. By the time Hansen concluded the series with A Country of Old Men (1990), Brandstetter was older, melancholy, and ready for retirement. The 1992 recipient of the Private Eye Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Hansen published several more novels before his death in 2004.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. This profile may contain books from multiple authors of this name.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 27, 2013
This was a difficult read for me. I found the protagonist too aloof and a bit holier-than-those-around-him (which wasn't exactly misplaced--he was surrounded by some lousy people)...It kept me from empathizing too strongly.
About halfway through I began to wonder what the point of all this was--the Biblical book of Job, though equally tedious and strewn with disaster, did have a point--no matter how strongly one might object to that point. After reading the last page, I was still wondering what the point was here...
I like Hansen, though I had only read the investigator novels prior to this one, and am going to continue working my way through his work. But I can only really recommend this one for the diehards and completists.
About halfway through I began to wonder what the point of all this was--the Biblical book of Job, though equally tedious and strewn with disaster, did have a point--no matter how strongly one might object to that point. After reading the last page, I was still wondering what the point was here...
I like Hansen, though I had only read the investigator novels prior to this one, and am going to continue working my way through his work. But I can only really recommend this one for the diehards and completists.
January 24, 2013
I've said of Hansen I think he's an underrated American queer author from the 70s and 80s after reading A Smile in His Lifetime and the first of his Dave Brandstetter mysteries. I'm still a big fan, but I'm beginning to understand why he hasn't gotten more notice. He's a master craftsman and I love his voice. He also has a talent for revealing information and layering subplots, but after a while his plot concerns feel a little repetitive. The main characters are often these hard-boiled, loner-types with super concrete goals and who do no wrong, except when it comes to romantic weakness. In each of the 3 books I've read, a main male character somewhere between late 30s and mid 50s has romantic feelings for a 16-year-old boy and acts on them. In 2 of the books, it is the boy who first comes on to the main character, and the protagonist treats the boys like adults, so this decreases the ick factor, but doesn't erase it. The boy in this book seems the most immature and boyish of the three, which made this the creepiest.
For the most part, I thought this was a better novel than A Smile in His Lifetime. I liked the older, more meditative protagonist, and I liked the way Hansen wove past experiences and memories into the story. Because of how Lifetime ended, I was expecting a mostly sad, somewhat ambiguous ending here, too, and I think the story establishes the requisite low level dread that gets you there. Some of the plot turns were foreshadowed too much. The biggest one has to do with a central concern of the story, so I won't spoil it here. I don't think the novel needed to end where it did, either, or it could have kept the events the same while providing more closure. The ending scene doesn't feel so intentional - it's more like the easiest symbolic place for Hansen to leave it. I found this book a little disappointing given some of the themes at play (loneliness, aging, death), but still enjoyed it.
For the most part, I thought this was a better novel than A Smile in His Lifetime. I liked the older, more meditative protagonist, and I liked the way Hansen wove past experiences and memories into the story. Because of how Lifetime ended, I was expecting a mostly sad, somewhat ambiguous ending here, too, and I think the story establishes the requisite low level dread that gets you there. Some of the plot turns were foreshadowed too much. The biggest one has to do with a central concern of the story, so I won't spoil it here. I don't think the novel needed to end where it did, either, or it could have kept the events the same while providing more closure. The ending scene doesn't feel so intentional - it's more like the easiest symbolic place for Hansen to leave it. I found this book a little disappointing given some of the themes at play (loneliness, aging, death), but still enjoyed it.
August 15, 2011
An older man looking for worth while reflecting on what he considers to be a wasted life.
The overall mood is gloomy with several unhappy events occurring throughout the book. The story briefly touches then quickly backs away from any emotion - 2 elements I didn't necessarily enjoy while reading. However, the MC's efforts to change were so affecting that I'm still thinking about it days later.
Well written. Sad, although everyone may not see it that way.
The overall mood is gloomy with several unhappy events occurring throughout the book. The story briefly touches then quickly backs away from any emotion - 2 elements I didn't necessarily enjoy while reading. However, the MC's efforts to change were so affecting that I'm still thinking about it days later.
Well written. Sad, although everyone may not see it that way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews