Jim Thompson, �Texas by the Tail�
I should go to bed. I had a huge stack (six books, in fact), waiting to be reviewed, and I only planned on finishing the Hemingway entry. There�s the theory about the glass being half empty and half full, but I just look at it as an excuse to keep typing either way.
Of course, what happens then is you finish your drink when you�re halfway finished with another review, so it�s just a matter of perseverance, which means you pour another drink. Well, I�m on my fourth review, and third pint glass of whisky and coke.
The problem with this mode of operation is that you tend to forget what the hell the book was about that you finished nearly a week ago. But of course, with Jim Thompson, that�s not really a handicap. Hmmm, let me see, I think it was about some small town crooks that have to deal with backbiting and double crosses.
Yeah, that sounds about right.
In fact, maybe the reason I like these Thompson novels so much is because of their smaller scale. Some of the novels, like this one, may be working toward a bigger payoff but it�s still a relatively small score. Sometimes this is because of lack of vision on the thieves� part, but often it�s just that Thompson�s characters are wary of hubris. They are small town thieves with small town dreams, and even those dreams are hard to come by.
I can relate to that. I don�t have delusions of grandeur, even if my resume says I want to expose a corporation and/or government, and then be assassinated by same said corporation and/or government. Most of the time I�m content with the smaller wishes, for they are less complicated to obtain.
For instance, there have been a couple of times where I�ve suggested to certain ladies that we stay in bed for the entire day without any clothes on. Until four days ago, I never managed to make it the entire day. Now I think I need to think bigger.
Like two days, perhaps.
Heh.
