South of Heaven
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South of Heaven
by
Jim Thompson
In the 1920s the worst place you could be was in that part of Texas that some people call "South of Heaven," and the worst thing you could be doing there was laying a gas pipeline, along with six-hundred other hoboes, juice-heads, and jailbirds. But that's exactly what Tommy Burwell was doing, even though he wasn't smart enough to know better. Even though "South of Heaven"...more
Paperback, 240 pages
Published
October 4th 1994
by Vintage
(first published 1967)
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I picked this up because it's about the hoboes that built the pipeline from the Permian Basin to the Gulf.
I love books about hoboes. I certainly do.
I did not know Jim Thompson was a mystery writer. The concept of an unexplained murder of a fictional person is so alien to my idea of entertainment that I am fascinated that legions find it ceaselessly compelling. It is probably the most profitable concept in the history of storytellying, aside from sex maybe. I don't kno...more
I love books about hoboes. I certainly do.
I did not know Jim Thompson was a mystery writer. The concept of an unexplained murder of a fictional person is so alien to my idea of entertainment that I am fascinated that legions find it ceaselessly compelling. It is probably the most profitable concept in the history of storytellying, aside from sex maybe. I don't kno...more
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In 1920s Texas, a smart kid named Tommy Burwell is living the hobo life, looking for work. He gets a job laying a gas pipeline with his friend Four Trey and hundreds of other rough characters, when he falls for Carol, a girl who hangs around the camp. When suspicious things happen, Tommy begins to realize a crime is about to go down and tries to get Carol out of it.
The novel sets up a gritty, suspenseful atmosphere; the reader never knows who to trust. Thompson’s language is great, ...more
The novel sets up a gritty, suspenseful atmosphere; the reader never knows who to trust. Thompson’s language is great, ...more
It feels like a rough draft and isn't the the equal of The Grifters or The Getaway, but I can evidently get behind a novel about down-and-outers jungling up in work camps to dig pipelines in West Texas, especially when you tack on a little revenge violence.
OK, next to "Bad Boy" truth maybe stranger than fiction, but fiction reads better.
This story of vengeance and hard-living building pipelines in West Texas, is yet another great Jim Thompson story... But one with a comparatively happy ending.
Gee Whiz the dialogue is dated....
Not my favourite book. The topic of the pipeline building was a little above my head in places and made me lose interest quickly. I also found that halfway through the book I wondered what the point was. Maybe it would have made a better short story.
Great story about West Texas oilmen in the 1920s. The third act pretty much falls apart, but it's still a worthy read.
A weird little book, part heist story & part social novel (as if Thompson were channeling Steinbeck).
never thought i'd say this about a jim thompson book, but... this book was boring.
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
James Myers Thompson was a United States writer of novels, short stories and screenplays, largely in the hardboiled style of crime fiction.
Thompson wrote more than thirty novels, the majority of which were original paperback publications by pulp fic...more
More about Jim Thompson...
James Myers Thompson was a United States writer of novels, short stories and screenplays, largely in the hardboiled style of crime fiction.
Thompson wrote more than thirty novels, the majority of which were original paperback publications by pulp fic...more
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