NO BOREDOM IN BARRDOM

by John M. Floyd

I met mystery writer Nevada Barr at a booksigning ten years ago, when all I knew about her was that she had a funny name. Since then we’ve kept in touch, I was a guest instructor at one of her classes, and I’ve read and enjoyed every book she’s written. She’s done a few short stories also — she once told me she thinks they’re harder to write than novels — but she’s of course best known for her books. A few years ago they propelled her to New York Times bestseller status, and she shows no signs of slowing down. Her latest, a standalone thriller set in post-Katrina New Orleans, was released this week.

The Great Outdoors

As some of you already know, almost every book in Nevada’s award-winning mystery series is set in a different national park, which is one of the many reasons they’re so entertaining. They even contain area maps, which to me is always an added bonus to the storyline. After reading an NB novel you not only feel as if you’ve been to that particular park, you find yourself wanting to go there in person. And when you do — I’ve visited some of them afterward — the familiarity she’s given you makes the trip even more fun.

Most of Nevada’s novels are told in the viewpoint of Park Ranger Anna Pigeon. Anna is stubborn, irreverent, funny, tough, and smart. She knows and understands the forests and the mountains, but by necessity she has also come to know the human world and its evil ways. To her credit, she prefers the silence of nature and the company of woodland creatures to the company of people.

I think Anna Pigeon probably looks like Nevada — small, cute, hair turning gray. I would bet many readers share that opinion, in much the same way that Spenser fans often picture him as a younger Robert B. Parker. I sometimes wonder who Hollywood would choose to play Anna if/when her adventures are adapted to the big screen, and whether whoever it is will measure up. I doubt it.

A Pigeon in the Park

If you’ve not yet read Nevada Barr, I hope you will. Here’s a list of her series novels, and their associated settings:

• Track of the Cat (1993) — Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
• A Superior Death (1994) — Isle Royale N. P., Michigan
• Ill Wind (1995) — Mesa Verde N. P., Colorado
• Firestorm (1996) — Lassen Volcanic N. P., California
• Endangered Species (1997) — Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia
• Blind Descent (1998) — Carlsbad Caverns N. P., New Mexico
• Liberty Falling (1999) — Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island National Monuments, New York
• Deep South (2000) — Natchez Trace National Parkway, Mississippi
• Blood Lure (2001) — Glacier N. P., Montana
• Hunting Season (2002) — Natchez Trace National Parkway, Mississippi
• Flashback (2003) — Dry Tortugas N. P., Florida
• High Country (2004) — Yosemite N. P., California
• Hard Truth (2005) — Rocky Mountains N. P., Colorado
• Winter Study (2008) — Isle Royale N. P., Michigan
• Borderline (2009) — Big Bend N. P., Texas

As you can see, only twice has Nevada revisited a location, and in the case of the Natchez Trace she says she did it because she lived here in Mississippi for many years, which made doing research easier. (The Trace is a gorgeous drive, by the way — I still travel it to visit my hometown, seventy miles north.) And even though she writes mostly novels, I as a short-story author have learned a lot from her work, especially from her talent for effective settings and atmosphere.

In case you’re wondering, Nevada is her real name — but the reason behind that is a story in itself.

Under the Heading of “Old Business” . . .

As promised, here are the next twenty answers to my recent “movie quotes” quiz. The final ten will be posted in next week’s column.

21. Give me ten men like Clouseau and I could destroy the world.
A SHOT IN THE DARK (Herbert Lom to his assistant)

22. Have you ever killed anyone? / Yeah, but they were all bad.
TRUE LIES (Jamie Lee Curtis / Gov. Shwartzenegger)

23. Raise your hands — and all of your flippers.
MEN IN BLACK (Agent Tommy Lee Jones to alien)

24. He’s in a gunfight right now. He’ll have to call you back.
UNDER SEIGE (Erika Eleniak, on the satellite phone to the top brass)

25. I read where you were shot five times in the tabloids. / It’s not true. He didn’t come anywhere near my tabloids.
THE THIN MAN (Myrna Loy / William Powell)

26. This was no boat accident.
JAWS (Richard Dreyfuss, while examining victim’s body)

27. On the day of my judgment, when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of His true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?
THE GREEN MILE (Tom Hanks to prisoner Michael Clarke Duncan)

28. You know, the one thing I can’t figure out, are these girls real smart or real real lucky?
THELMA AND LOUISE (Stephen Tobolowski to fellow cop Harvey Keitel)

29. There’s only one rule: Once you go in . . . you don’t come out.
ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (narrator, describing Manhattan Federal Prison)

30. You can shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ’em . . .
But it’s a sin TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (Gregory Peck to children at his kitchen table)

31. By the authority vested in me by Kaiser William the Second, I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution.
THE AFRICAN QUEEN (Peter Bull to captives Bogie and Hepburn)

32. I don’t want to get any messages saying that we’re holding our position. We’re not holding anything. Let the Hun do that.
PATTON (George C. Scott, during speech to troops)

33. Igor, help me with the bags. / Certainly. You take the blonde, I’ll take the one in the turban. / I was talking about the luggage.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (Gene Wilder / Marty Feldman / Wilder)

34. The next time I say something like let’s go to Bolivia, let’s go to Bolivia.
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (Newman to Redford)

35. Every man on that transport died — Harry wasn’t there to save them because you weren’t there to save Harry.
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (Angel Henry Travers to James Stewart)

36. We rob banks.
BONNIE AND CLYDE (Faye Dunaway)

37. I just noticed that a fancy pilot like Slick over there doesn’t have his picture on your wall. What do you have to do to get your picture up there anyway? / You have to die, sweetie.
THE RIGHT STUFF (Customer in a bar / Kim Stanley)

38. Down your weapons put.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (Yoda to the opposition)

39. Ain’t had no water since yesterday, Lord. Gettin’ a little thirsty. Just thought I’d mention it. Amen.
THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (Jason Robards, while wandering in the desert)

40. That ditch is Boss Kean’s ditch. And I told him that dirt in it’s your dirt. What’s your dirt doin’ in his ditch?
COOL HAND LUKE (Prison guard Luke Askew to Paul Newman)