Tattoo

Having worked for many years in the navy, reading books has occupied a great deal of my time. The first occasion on which I read the book tattoo, I was struck by the sheer depth to the charachters that enabled these american individuals in an alien culture to my own, to be brought to life and appreciated by myself, an english sailor. I have read the book many times since and will continue to do so in the future. Along with Orwell's 1984, it is my favourite.

"Tatoo" is the second book in Earl Thompson's sweeping tale of a young man coming of age in the underside of the 1940's. This is my favorite of all three, and the one that received the most media coverage in its first publishing.Thompson wasn't afraid to write of the people he knew, and the characters he created are never one-dimensional -- they eat, sleep, drink, fight, and indulge in sex. This is what life was really like for so many hard-working people during the WWII era, despite the rosy message musicals of that time force-fed the public.Steinbeck, Faulkner, and Dreiser are lauded as great novelists for their accurate display of human plight. Thompson is no less prolific and realistic, but because of his depiction of raw sex, I'd bet his novels will never be taught in any public school. The stark sexual themes -- including incest and rape -- will offend the masses but will never appeal to the "Debbie Does Dallas" set. Still,his protagonist is so real and the story so fun that this ranks high on my "Top 10 read every year" list.

feel the hunger in your belly, have a sense of desperation in your soul. Not many novels alow me to let go and put myself in the place of the main character, but this one does. You will feel all of Jack Andersen's pains, desires,triumphs,failures and fantasies as if they were your own. The very rare combination of great writer and consumate storyteller. A true tradgedy that Mr. Thompson is no longer with us. Highly recommended, but not for the prudish or politically correct. A must read.

...that will touch all of your emotions. Written with a unique flair for exposing those rare nuggets of truth, Earl Thompson transcends generations and can easily be placed within this revviewer's list of the top fifty American authors of all time. While his subject matter may disconcert and jangle an individual's view of relationships, sex, military service and the odessy of living in America, one cannot help but be drawn in to Thompson's eloquence and story telling mastery. Whether on the far left, extreme right or just plain in the middle of the road, I strongly recommend you reward yourself with this fine read!

Earl Thompson writes about life, where the meat hits the street, and where skin hits the sheet. This is not a book for the high-brow panty-waist looking for intellectual enlightenment. This is one of the boldest american novels ever written. Thompson has been where his characters go, and he brings that bawdy existence, not just to the reader, but to a level of literature that outshines most of the crank that reaches the best seller lists today. Highly recommended, entertaining, thought provoking...a novel that drips with the juices of growing up in the USA.