Roughneck

And so the Year of Jim Thompson ends with him getting the last word in his other autobiographical work. This, along with Bad Boy is a great piece of storytelling as Thompson reminisces on his challenging life as a vagabond, sounding like a Huck Finn from Hell. Funny and sad, depressing and mad, Thom......more

A document of Depression-era life in the US. Some of it feels embellished or contrived; other parts seem way too real. Have to say—prior to this book was not familiar with this author (which say more about my vast ignorance that Thompson's fame). Gets an extra star just for pluck and grit.......more

Jim Thompson may be famous in the field of crime novels but his name was new to me. I was drawn to his autobiographical tale of Oklahoma in the Depression period more for his hard-drinking, hobo reputation than his literary output. My main complaint is that the book is too short and ends abruptly ri......more

A decent memoir of young Mr. Thompson's experiences during the great depression. Kind of read like Bukowski, at times, but less poetic and more blunt. A decent read, and a very interesting look into the background of one of the very best Noir writers. Kind of a perfect bathroom book, you can pick it......more

A series of jobs fall through in a comic manner but things take a bleak turn when Jim Thompson has to work as door-to-door salesman/debt collector just as the depression takes hold of America. He ends up leaving his pregnant wife to ride the rails and live as a hobo, looking for a steady job that mi......more