THE GRIFTERS by Jim Thompson

Ok, here goes. I started to read The Grifters and got about 70 pages in until I began to wonder whether or not, I was reading the right book. Like maybe it was a novelization of the movie (which I haven't seen)? Because not only did I love the two other Jim Thompson books I've read previously, so many people are fans of this particular book and it couldn't possibly be the one I was reading, right? I was expecting an entertaining con man thriller at worst, or another masterpiece of noir at best. But what I was reading was a bland soap opera about a love triangle between a short-con artist, his mother and his girlfriend. Maybe if I knew that's what it was from the start, I would've enjoyed it... It just kept going back and forth about his Roy's mommy issues, and his conflicting desires to leave grifting behind. I even looked up the Wikipedia synopsis to make sure that I wasn't missing anything.

I didn't. I was pretty uninterested, but I thought: Okay, this is building a set-up and then Thompson is gonna start putting it into overdrive in the 2nd half. Then the 2nd half of the book came and went. And it was more of the same, even up to the ending that people supposedly love. A big redeeming factor though is that Thompson's narrative voice is so enjoyable to read. That kept me going. But ultimately, I was disappointed that this one wasn't for me, and I'm most definitely in the very small minority. I thought the characters were easily forgettable and story itself pretty uneventful.

GRADE: C-

THE GETAWAY by Jim Thompson

GRADE: B+

Doc McCoy was recently released from prison and doesn't waste any time getting right back in the game with a new heist with his inexperienced wife and an insane partner. The bank robbery is successful but Doc soon realizes that the robbery itself was the simple part!

The Getaway begins with what would usually be the middle of most heist stories and is mostly about the aftermath of the crime (hence the title). But the story is not your usual "Bonnie and Clyde"-type thriller. This highly suspenseful yarn is ultimately about the disintegration of this couple's relationship as their journey leads them into some deep shit (literally). The only disappointing thing is the build up of a great character with lots of potential, that ultimately goes nowhere.

This is my 2nd Jim Thompson novel, and it turns out to be just as haunting, bizarre, and all-out ballsy as my first, A Hell of a Woman. And just like in that book, The Getaway has an ending that will first make you pause and think to yourself, "Wait, what in the f......hold on, did I just read that?", and then make you want to go back and read the entire book again. I definitely can't wait to see what his other books are like!

"You tell yourself it is a bad dream. You tell yourself you have died--you, not the others--and have waked up in hell. But you know better. You know better. There is an end to dreams, and there is no end to this."

A HELL OF A WOMAN by Jim Thompson

GRADE: A

This is the first Jim Thompson book I've read (don't know why it took so long), but it was definitely an experience! The story starts out with a fairly simple and familiar noir plot, focusing on a door-to door salesman who gets smitten for a meek, but strangely attractive young woman, and hatches a plot to steal some money from her aunt, who's a down-right deplorable old witch that pimps out her niece to everyone around town. But eventually, it evolves into this totally bizarre and unpredictable character-driven ride. And WHOA! WHAT AN ENDING!

I'm excited to get into his other novels! Any author that has the balls to write a line like the one below, is definitely one to get excited about:

"...even the puke was beautiful like everything else."