Jim Thompson (writer)

James Myers Thompson (September 27, 1906, Anadarko, Oklahoma Territory–April 7, 1977, Los Angeles, California) was an American writer of short stories, screenplays and novels, largely of the pulp fiction kind.

Related Topics:
September 27 - 1906 - Anadarko - Oklahoma Territory - April 7 - 1977 - Los Angeles, California - American - Writer - Pulp fiction

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Thompson was best-known for his novels. He wrote more than thirty, mostly between the late 1940s and mid 1950s, his most prolific period. Despite some positive reviews (Anthony Boucher was a fan, and reviewed many of Thompson's novels in the New York Times), Thompson was little recognized during his lifetime. His stature grew in the 1980s, stemming from the republication of his novels in the Black Lizard series of rediscovered crime fiction. Thompson was an admirer of Fyodor Dostoevsky and was nicknamed "Dimestore Dostoevsky" by writer Geoffrey O'Brien.

Related Topics:
1940s - 1950s - Anthony Boucher - New York Times - 1980s - Black Lizard - Crime fiction - Fyodor Dostoevsky - Nickname - Geoffrey O'Brien

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Thompson's books are populated by grifters, losers and psychopaths, some on the fringes of society, some in the very heart of it. His nihilistic worldview was best served by first person narratives, revealing an almost frighteningly deep understanding of the workings of warped minds. There are practically no "good guys" in Thompson's works, nearly everyone is abusive, opportunistic, or simply biding their time.

Related Topics:
Grifter - Loser - Psychopath - Nihilistic - First person

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Thompson's writing culminated in a few of his best-regarded works: The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night, A Hell of a Woman and Pop. 1280. In these and other works, Thompson turned the often derided pulp genre into literature, into art. Some of his work features unreliable narrators, odd structures, and flirtations with surrealism.

Related Topics:
The Killer Inside Me - Savage Night - A Hell of a Woman - Pop. 1280 - Pulp - Literature - Art - Unreliable narrator - Surrealism

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His own life was nearly as colorful as his fiction, and much of Thompson's work was semi-autobiographical, or at least inspired by his own experiences.

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