Fifth Law of Hawkins — Charles Durden

He downs tequila as if it were water, smokes dope when he can get it, mouths off with no provocation, and beds any female who catches his fancy. This is Durden's hero Jamie Hawkins, writer and self-described commentator on life's absurdities. In fact, Hawkins is a self-indulgent egotist who feels that because he survived Nam (in Durden's novel No Bugles, No Drums , LJ 6/1/76), he knows what's best for the world. The wisecracks provoke laughs at first, but soon Hawkins's unfounded sense of superiority, smugness, and especially stereotyping (e.g., Ronnie Raygun) become wearing. The character is a few years out of date--the anti-establishment, aggressively liberal gadfly was fresh in the 1960s, but not now. The story finally picks up speed once Hawkins gets down to work as a reporter investigating police corruption. Unfortunately, this offers still more opportunity for insults, obscenities, sex, and arrogance. Overdone.-- A.M.B. Amantia, Population Crisis Committee Lib., Washington, D.C.