The Getaway

Rating:
Summary: Great Crime Book
Review: This book was my first foray into the books of famous pulp writer Thompson, although of course I've seen a few movies based on other work of his (The Grifters, After Dark My Sweet). This slim book tells a very simple tale about a bank heist, the falling out of thieves afterward, and their attempt to elude the police dragnet make it to the Mexican border, where a paradise awaits them. Simple enough, with just the right number of characters and complexity for the movies (which is why it's been made into one twice, first in 1972, then in 1993). It's all very fun to read, and you find yourself rooting for the husband and wife team of robbers to make it out...let's just say there's an unexpected ending which lifts the book out of the realm of pulp fiction, and into that of morality play. I plan on reading some more Jim Thompson.

Rating:
Summary: Don't think twice-get it!
Review: This work features a third-person narrative which isn't too common to the Thompson ouvre. It works because the reader gets the unique perspective of each of the principle characters. Ok most of you are probably familiar with the basic plot of the book due to the miserable Alec Baldwin vehicle and the decent Peckinpah adaptation. It starts with a great robbery, and the rest of the book is about the getaway. The book is the ultimate page turner- absolutely fantastic to to the bitter end. If you like the book and haven't seen the movies- don't bother.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid Characters in an Odd Allegory.
Review: True to its title, "The Getaway" tells a story of crooks fleeing a bank job, looking forward to freedom and the good life in Mexico. Doc McCoy is a career criminal, fresh out of a stint in prison. His wife, Carol, is less savvy, but every bit as ruthless. They've just robbed the vault at the Beacon City bank, and now they're on the run. It's not surprising that, in an underworld populated with low-lifes, things don't go exactly as planned.

As "The Getaway" progresses, it becomes less credible and more allegorical. By its end, I realized that the story is fundamentally a parable in the guise of a hard-boiled crime story. The characters are all irredeemable, as is fitting the genre. They're vivid. They act as we have come to expect hardened criminals to act in noir fiction. That's entertaining enough...up to a point. But in the end, "The Getaway" left me unsatisfied, because I didn't find the allegory interesting or believable. I felt that the novel got off to a good start, but went in the wrong direction -or perhaps went about exhibiting its themes the wrong way. Thompson takes the easy way out in making his point with implausible plot elements instead of grounding the story in gritty realism. The dialogue and characters are compelling enough to make the "The Getaway" worthwhile, but it should have been better. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid Characters in an Odd Allegory.
Review: True to its title, "The Getaway" tells a story of crooks fleeing a bank job, looking forward to freedom and the good life in Mexico. Doc McCoy is a career criminal, fresh out of a stint in prison. His wife, Carol, is less savvy, but every bit as ruthless. They've just robbed the vault at the Beacon City bank, and now they're on the run. It's not surprising that, in an underworld populated with low-lifes, things don't go exactly as planned.

As "The Getaway" progresses, it becomes less credible and more allegorical. By its end, I realized that the story is fundamentally a parable in the guise of a hard-boiled crime story. The characters are all irredeemable, as is fitting the genre. They're vivid. They act as we have come to expect hardened criminals to act in noir fiction. That's entertaining enough...up to a point. But in the end, "The Getaway" left me unsatisfied, because I didn't find the allegory interesting or believable. I felt that the novel got off to a good start, but went in the wrong direction -or perhaps went about exhibiting its themes the wrong way. Thompson takes the easy way out in making his point with implausible plot elements and characters instead of grounding the story in gritty realism. The dialogue and characters are compelling enough to make the "The Getaway" worthwhile, but it should have been better. I give it 3 1/2 stars.