Bernie Rhodenbarr - Wikipedia

Bernie Rhodenbarr is the protagonist of the Burglar series of comic mystery novels by Lawrence Block. He first appeared in Burglars Can't Be Choosers, ... BernieRhodenbarr FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch BernieRhodenbarristheprotagonistoftheBurglarseriesofcomicmysterynovelsbyLawrenceBlock.HefirstappearedinBurglarsCan'tBeChoosers,publishedin1977;asof2013,hehasappearedinelevennovelsbyBlock,aswellasfourshortstories("LikeaThiefintheNight,""TheBurglarWhoDroppedInOnElvis,""TheBurglarWhoSmelledSmoke"and"ABadNightforBurglars"). Contents 1Characters 2Friendsandassociates 3Booksintheseries 4BernieRhodenbarrinothermedia 5References 6Externallinks Characters[edit] BernieRhodenbarrisaNewYorkCity-basedthiefwhoexcelsinlockpickingandbreakingandentering,andwhoisaddictedtothethrillitprovides.Heservedtimeinprisoninhisyouth,andsincethenhasresolvedtoavoidgettingcaughtagain. Bernie'sburglaryoperationsareusuallywell-plannedandtidilyexecuted,fromtheinitialsurveillanceofthetargetsitetotheescaperouteafterwards.However,duringthecourseofsomeoftheseburglariesBernieencountersadeadbody,usuallyjustbeforethepolicearrivetoinvestigateacalled-inmurder.ThusbeginstheplotlineofatypicalBernieRhodenbarrnovel,inwhichBernieundertakestosolvethemurderinordertoclearhisname.Hisinvestigativetechniquesincludenotonlyinterviewingthevictim'sassociates,butvisits(sometimesinvolvingillegalentry)totheirhomestoidentify(andoccasionallyplant)evidence. BeginningwithTheBurglarWhoLikedtoQuoteKipling,Berniehasbecometheowner/operatorofBarnegatBooks,ausedbookstoreinGreenwichVillagethathepurchasedfromitsretiringownerandpartiallyfundsthroughthetakefromhisoccasionalburglaryactivities.PriortothenovelTheBurglarWhoTradedTedWilliams(toexplainapublishinghiatusintheseries)itwasrevealedthatthebookstorewasactuallymakingaprofit,beforeitsbuilding'slandlordchangedandthenewownerraisedtherentcatastrophically.Berniehassincemanagedtobuythebuilding,andnowuseshisburglarytaketopayforthebuilding'supkeep.Thebookstorealsohousesacat,agiftfromBernie'sfriendCarolyn,whomBernienamedRafflesafterthefictionalgentlemanthief. AccordingtoLawrenceBlock,oneofthereasonsBernieoperatesthebookstorewastomeetgirls.Bernieenjoysanactivesexlife,sleepingwithatleastonefemalecharacterpernovel.Berniedoesnotappeartohaveasteadygirlfriend. Hehasalsodevelopedaconnoisseur'slikingforScotchwhisky,particularlysinglemalts.However,ifhehasaheistplannedhewilldrinknoalcoholinthehourspriortoitsexecution,preferringPerrierinstead. Friendsandassociates[edit] CarolynKaiserisBernie'sbestfriend,occasionalpartnerincrime,andlesbiansoulmate.Sheoperatesapet-groomingsaloncalledThePoodleFactorynearBernie'sbookstore.Thetwomeetoverdrinksonaregularbasis,discussingtheirworkandlovelives;theirconversationsenablewriterBlocktodisplayhiswitandmentionfavoriteauthors.CarolynhasasetofkeystoBernie'sapartmentandbookstoreincaseofanemergency. RayKirschmannisaplainclothesdetectiveontheNewYorkpoliceforce,andisdescribedbyBernieas"thebestcopmoneycanbuy,"sinceRaywillallowhimselftobebribedtooverlookBernie'soccasionalillegalactivities.However,Raydoesdrawthelineathomicide,andisusuallypresentattheclimaxofeachnovelwhenthemurdererisfinallyrevealed.Amarried,middle-agedman,Ray'sappearanceisnormallyrumpled(despitehavingexpensiveclothes)andhetendstotalkinaless-educatedmannerthanBernie.HeandCarolynarenotfriendly. WallyHemphillisBernie'slawyer.ThetwoinitiallymetasjoggingenthusiastswhenBernietookuptheactivity,andBerniecalledhimtobailhimoutofprisonwhenhe'dlearnedhispreviouslawyerhaddied.WallyhashelpedBerniebynegotiatingthesaleoftheBarnegatBooksbuildingtohim,andhasalsotakenupmartialarts,whichcameinhandyinalaternovelwhenheapprehendedanescapingsuspect. MartyGilmartinisawealthybusinessmanandtheatrepatronwhometBernieshortlyafterthelatterattemptedtoburglehishome.HeoccasionallyhelpsBernieoutbyidentifyingpotentialvictimsforhim,usuallyrichpeoplewithacashflowproblemwhowouldliketocollectontheirhomeinsurancepolicybyreportingaburglary. Booksintheseries[edit] BurglarsCan'tBeChoosers(1977) TheBurglarintheCloset(1978) TheBurglarWhoLikedtoQuoteKipling(1979) TheBurglarWhoStudiedSpinoza(1980) TheBurglarWhoPaintedLikeMondrian(1983) TheBurglarWhoTradedTedWilliams(1994) TheBurglarWhoThoughtHeWasBogart(1995) TheBurglarintheLibrary(1997) TheBurglarintheRye(1999) TheBurglarontheProwl(2004) TheBurglarWhoCountedtheSpoons(2013)[1] TherearealsofourBernieRhodenbarrshortstories:"ABadNightforBurglars","LikeaThiefintheNight","TheBurglarWhoDroppedInOnElvis",and"TheBurglarWhoSmelledSmoke". BernieRhodenbarrinothermedia[edit] Thesecondnovelintheseries,TheBurglarInTheCloset,wassubsequentlyadaptedintothefilmBurglar,inwhichBernie-awhitemale-wasportrayedbyWhoopiGoldberg(renamed"Bernice"),althoughBruceWillishadoriginallybeenofferedtherole.Blockwasdispleasedbytheadaptation(hedescribeswatchinganin-flightmovie,withnosound,andnotrecognizingitasbeingbasedonhisnoveluntilthecreditsrolled),andhaswrittenthesubsequentnovelsinsuchawayastorenderthemunfilmable. Inaspecialmovietie-ineditionofthenovel,BlockaddedashortintroinwhichBernieexplainedthathehasacousinnamedBernicewhoisalsoathief,givingawhimsical"in-continuity"explanationofthechangestothecharacter. References[edit] ^TheBurglarisBack!atMysteryFanfare,byJanetRudolph;publishedOctober23,2013;retrievedOctober23,2013 Externallinks[edit] TheBernieRhodenbarrseries BurglaratIMDb Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernie_Rhodenbarr&oldid=1078750225" Categories:Charactersinmysterynovelseriesofthe20thcenturyCharactersinmysterynovelseriesofthe21stcenturyFictionalamateurdetectivesFictionalprofessionalthievesLiterarycharactersintroducedin1977 Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English Views ReadEditViewhistory More Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Languages FrançaisTürkçe中文 Editlinks