Jim Thompson
1952
Around 360 pages
We have our share of ugly novels on the List. Some revel in their ugliness more than others. Naturally, novels that tackle subjects like genocide and war are going to upset the reader, but this is a separate category. I am sure this had a huge influence on Brent Easton Ellis, if that gives you any indications about where this is going.
Lou Ford is the deputy sheriff of a small Texas town and a sadistic sociopath. At the beginning of the story, he satisfies his schadenfreude by simply boring the people around him. Of course, that's not enough for Lou, who has been sexually abusing girls since he was young. He enters a BDSM relationship with Joyce, a prostitute, despite having a steady schoolteacher girlfriend. He suspects there is more to his foster brother's recent death at a construction site.
I don't think Thompson is bad at his craft, but his craft is fixating on a brutal violence against women. And yes, Lou doesn't limit his violence to just women. But that choice allows us to do some comparing and contrasting for how the victims and their experiences are treated. And Lou's misogyny is pretty much his raison d'etre (and maybe the author's as well).
Lou is a monster, and like all monsters, was once a victim himself. There were no images from this story that are going to haunt me forever (I am sure Thompson would be very disappointed). But I don't find stories about mentally disabled men terrorizing women quite as compelling
as others do.
RATING: *----
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
Adapted into a film in 2010, starring Casey Affleck and Jessica Alba. Ick.
20th Century Fox originally optioned the project as a possible starring vehicle for Marilyn Monroe in 1956. After her death, the project was shelved.
UP NEXT: Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
No comments:
Post a Comment