Maximizing Bob

I sometimes like to pull mystery/crime novels apart to see how they are structured. Mostly this tells me that genius knows no rules and there is no formula or structure that replaces great writing. But I'm a structure nut and I can't help myself.

One of many things I admire about Elmore Leonard is how he manages an ensemble cast of characters. His stories come to life through dialogue that illuminates character -- characters so vividly rendered that his third-person view assumes the intimacy of first-person narration. He builds velocity while cutting from character to character, and because you like all of them you'll turn the page for the next chapter to catch up with someone you haven't seen for a bit.

By changing focal character from chapter to chapter -- and sometimes within chapters -- we see Leonard's world from multiple viewpoints. And because he uses those viewpoints to parse information, the audience sees misunderstandings develop and watches plans go off the rails before the characters know what is happening, building engagement, empathy, and suspense. Finally, because so many characters advance the plot, Leonard can surprise readers by killing important characters without also killing his story. It keeps you on your toes and keeps those pages turning.

To see Leonard's gameplan for shifting character focus, I broke down Maximum Bob (for the simple reason it was the Leonard novel I had closest to hand). I defined a chapter's "focal character" as being the character that drove the action of that chapter or section, with observation and thoughts coming from their point-of-view.

In some cases I made judgement calls, but here's how focal character assignments break down for Maximum Bob, chapter-by-chapter:

1. Kathy

2. Kathy

3. Big, Leanne

4. Big

5. Dale

6. Kathy

7. Leanne, Big, Gary

8. Big

9. Kathy

10. Big, Dicky

11. Elvin

12. Kathy, Elvin

13. Kathy, Elvin

14. Kathy

15. Elvin, Kathy, Elvin

16. Inez, Gary, Kathy

17. Kathy, Elvin, Kathy

18. Elvin, Kathy, Elvin

19. Kathy, Elvin, Kathy, Dr. Tommy

20. Kathy, Dicky, Elvin, Dr. Tommy

21. Big, Kathy

22. Kathy, Elvin, Kathy

23. Elvin, Kathy, Elvin, Kathy, Gary, Kathy, Elvin (cross-cutting for suspense)

24. Hector, Big, Elvin

25. Kathy, Elvin, Kathy, Elvin

26. Elvin, Kathy

27. Kathy, Elvin, Kathy

28. Big, Kathy, Big, Kathy

Here's how the above spotlight time tallies up, by focal scene:

• Kathy: 28

• Elvin: 17

• Big: 9

• Gary: 3

• Leanne: 2

• Dicky: 2

• Dr. Tommy: 2

• Dale: 1

• Inez: 1

• Hector: 1

Kathy and Elvin are protagonist/antagonist, and they top the list. Pretty much everyone else is used for transitions and exposition external to the main characters. While reading the book I thought it much more of an ensemble than the numbers bear out, which is a tribute to Leonard -- I feel the presence of all those characters, even if I'm not frequently sharing their viewpoint.

Part of this is down to the way the book is structured. In the opening chapters, it looks like this will be Kathy's story, or maybe Big's (the "Maximum Bob" of the book's title), but when Elvin gets his first focal moment in Chapter 11, he pretty much takes the wheel. From that point forward, he has almost as much spotlight time as Kathy.

Elvin is a creep. He's compelling but clearly a bad guy, which is why I've tagged him the antagoinist. But there's a school of thought that the character who changes the most in a story is your actual protagonist. Whether that means Kathy or Elvin is the protagonist of Maximum Bob I will leave for you to decide.