You and I had different reactions to Recoil. I rather enjoyed
it and thought it was particularly well-plotted and
suspenseful. It does have an uncharacteristically happy
ending. For that reason, I've used the novel a number of
times to introduce folks to Jim Thompson, particularly people
who might enjoy the atmosphere and or the way he turns his
plots inside-out, but would initially be troubled by his
nihilism.
For sub-par Thompson, I'd probably finger The Alcoholics --
but that may be undeserved. It's an atypical novel, an
over-the-top farce. While Thompson's supporting characters
are always a bit cartoony, Thompson takes that tendency to an
extreme in this novel.
Haven't read Wild Town, but I'm considering moving it up on
my list. I don't ask that critics agree with me, I only need
for them to be consistent. Sometimes, reading books a good
critic hates or avoiding the ones he loves can be the right
thing to do. I remember doing that with Leonard Maltin years
ago, when I was watching movies. He always liked 1950s
science fiction films a lot more than I did. I could adjust
his ratings accordingly.
- Greg Swan
> I just finished reading Thompson's Recoil and Wild
Town. Both of these
> things go nowhere in terms of plot or action. Sloppy
writing, sheesh... I
> heaven't seen many examples of other hb writers
doing so poorly, but of
> course, I have to think that Thompson's rep allows
for publication of even
> the bad stuff. So we don't see many examples of bad
writing from the
> paperback people of the fifties.
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