The Killer Inside Me in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 26, 2012 Suvi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: _north-america, 1940-1969, novels, crime-mystery

I saw the film version a while ago, and it didn't convince me that much, even though Casey Affleck's performance was hauntingly perfect. So, when I saw this in the library, I thought I should at least take a look. What a disturbing experience that was. It was like watching a horror movie: you want to close your eyes, but you can't. I could not put this down. Fortunately this was mercifully short, a larger dose would have been way too much.

Thompson didn't get much recognition while he was still a I saw the film version a while ago, and it didn't convince me that much, even though Casey Affleck's performance was hauntingly perfect. So, when I saw this in the library, I thought I should at least take a look. What a disturbing experience that was. It was like watching a horror movie: you want to close your eyes, but you can't. I could not put this down. Fortunately this was mercifully short, a larger dose would have been way too much.

Thompson didn't get much recognition while he was still alive, which is a shame since this is in a lot of ways a more interestingly executed piece of hard-boiled literature than Candler's works. The style is concise and intense, and all the characters are in some ways unpleasant. Of course, Lou Ford is the most disturbing of them all. It doesn't matter at all that you can kind of sense the end result from the beginning, since it's interesting to follow how Ford will deal with the situation. Underneath that calm and simple exterior he's a complete psychopath. The violence itself is more unpleasant than usual, even though the scenes aren't bloodbaths. After the finale Ford is sure to haunt you for a while.

By the way, I was reading some of the critique concerning the movie, and it doesn't really make sense. The film is actually a very faithful adaptation of the book, so the critics should have taken that into consideration. Most of the violence is targeted at women, but that doesn't make the director or author misogynists. Sure, I got a bit queasy, but would it be better if no violence towards women was ever portrayed anywhere? I think the audience was just in shock, because they hadn't seen anything that realistic before. Or maybe because there aren't actually that many scenes of violence, so it feels more nauseating. The essence of the story is Ford's inner struggle and keeping everything under control. So, in second thought, I'd recommend the movie as well, since it is actually a quite stylish modern film noir. Just read the book first, you'll get more out of it. ...more

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Apr 10, 2016 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: suspense-thriller, fiction, psych-psych-psych, hard-boiled, classic, 1001-books, oh-unlikeable-you, crime, grit-lit, noir

You see why I had to kill her, I reckon. Or do you?

Well, no, actually, I don't see. I never really "got it" with this book. Sometimes characters would have a conversation consisting of significant looks and silences, and I was left wondering what the heck was actually being said. Kubrick said this got us inside the killer's head, but I was never really there.

Good thing, I guess?

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Somehow I've never read anything by Jim Thompson - never even really thought about reading

You see why I had to kill her, I reckon. Or do you?

Well, no, actually, I don't see. I never really "got it" with this book. Sometimes characters would have a conversation consisting of significant looks and silences, and I was left wondering what the heck was actually being said. Kubrick said this got us inside the killer's head, but I was never really there.

Good thing, I guess?

***********************

Somehow I've never read anything by Jim Thompson - never even really thought about reading anything by him - which is kind of weird, since my birth name is Thompson. Then I read this blurb on Garrison Keillor's page:

[Sept 27] It's the birthday of hardboiled crime novelist Jim Thompson, born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He's best known for his novel The Killer Inside Me (1952) about a friendly, beloved sheriff who is also a serial killer.

Thompson grew up in a town full of cattle thieves, gunfighters, and bank robbers. His family lived in an apartment above the county jail, where his father worked as the local sheriff. As a young man, Jim was fascinated by the ways people disguised who they really were. He noticed that his father always acted stupid around strangers. He was shocked when his father was later charged with embezzling thousands of dollars from the state government. When Jim got a job as a hotel bellboy to support his mother and sisters, he had to look nice and act polite and carry bags, but he also helped the hotel guests find illegal liquor, drugs, and prostitutes.

He tried for seven years to get a high school diploma, working all night and going to school all day, but he finally dropped out and wandered around Texas, living as a hobo and working in the oil fields. One of his hobo friends encouraged him to write about his experiences, so he did. A year later he saw the article published in Texas Monthly magazine, and the editor encouraged him to submit more.

Thompson went on to publish crime novels like The Killer Inside Me (1952) and After Dark, My Sweet (1955). When he died in 1977, most of his books were out of print, but he told his wife to keep his manuscripts. He said, "Just you wait, I'll become famous after I'm dead about 10 years." About 10 years later, in the mid-1980s, all of his crime novels were republished. They are now considered classics of the crime genre.

How can I pass that up? It was hard to choose between this book, or After Dark, My Sweet or The Grifters. The last two were made into movies that I LOVED. Finally I decided I'd be too distracted by trying to remember the movie while I read, so I chose this one, which seems to be the ONE held up as The Classic. Yes it was also a movie, but I never saw it, so I'm good. Also, it's on that list 1001 Books to Read Before You Die which is admittedly kind of male-centric and therefore questionable (how can it not include The Children of Men, or anything by P.D. James? nothing by Ursula LeGuin?? anyway ...)

This is also billed as one of the top 100 mysteries by the MWofA: https://www.librarything.com/bookawar... ...more

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Apr 02, 2014 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: noir, 1001, texas

In many ways the prototype for an idea that still seems au courant (see also: Dexter), but Thompson spins it out beautifully - with very few words, he manages to make Lou Ford the only one who knows anything and the only one who knows nothing. Not an easy balance to walk, but this is just right.

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