This is the fourth book I've read by Thompson. I have mixed feelings about this one. The story is a familiar one: A down-on-his-luck male protagonist has a failing marriage and finds ways to swindle and manipulate everyone around him. In true Thompson form, the first half of this book is a slow buildup to madness. We see the main character in a failing marriage. We see him struggling at his job. And we get glimpses of the tortured inner life that comes to define much of Thompson's lead characters.And then, the proverbial shit hits the fan. That seems to be Thompson's shtick and he does it brilliantly in the other books I've read by him. This one, however, felt like a dud. It didn't have the same masterful and creepy darkness that shines through in "The Killer Inside Me." And it doesn't have the absurd, nihilistic threads of "Savage Night," either. Instead, it sort of reads like novelistic filler. It's like a bonus track on a great album. It's not terrible, but it doesn't really hold a candle to the works that you really enjoy.I've grown to love Thompson's style. He has folksy and punchy prose. His sentences are lean and crisp. And his stories almost always delve into the mind of sociopaths. But, this one really feels like a rushed project. It was my first Thompson read. And about half way through something clicked and I knew where it was going. I guess I was more pissed that I figured it out. *changes 3 star rating to 4...I can't blame the book for me figuring it out...* But watching it all come to pass was rather enjoyable nonetheless. I loved his unreliable narrator, Dolly, who seemed 1 part wallowing, sad sap and 1 part opportunistic, sad sap. And the last pages with the italics and regular print taking us quickly back and forth between two frames of mind, left the English major in me VERY very VERY happy.
What do You think about A Hell Of A Woman (1954)?
A classic with a crazed twist. I read this many years ago and loved it. A must read!
—groovygirl402
Damn library copy was missing pages - many pages. Will need to find another copy.
—Sumedha
Took me a bit to connect to it. Might try another of his.
—Victoria
