I think that Jim Thompson has the same place in the
hardboiled (or noir) that Philip K. Dick had to scifi. I mean
that as a good thing.
But man, could they both write stinkers!
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.
I got over the bad Jim Thompson stretch by reading Wil Baer's
Kiss Me Judas, and all was well again.
Tribe
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