The Getaway

Doc McCoy is a criminal mastermind and his wife Carol is his willing accomplice. After a particularly bloody bank heist, the two of them make their way to California only a step or two ahead of the law and a former colleague hellbent on killing them. Their plan is to sneak into Mexico and permanently avoid capture by living amongst a criminal colony beyond the reach of justice. The Getaway is a short, fast paced novel that adheres to the traditional conventions of pulp fiction. The narrative is unapologetically violent and gut wrenchingly raw as it tells of Doc and Carol's murderous exploits. But there's more to it than that. Thompson skillfully imbues the characters, even the most minor ones, with a psychological complexity breathtaking to behold. About three quarters of the way through, Thompson surprises the reader by making the storyline ever increasingly surreal. Ultimately, creating a world that can only be described as Kafkaesque in its depraved yet methodical bizareness. A lesser author would never have been able to pull off such a monumental transition in narrative tone. Yet Thompson makes it work and in doing so has created an experimental novel that has deservedly become a classic.

Jim Thompson's knack is to get me to feel sorry for the bad guy. Just like his other must reads, Pop. 1280 and The Killer Inside Me, I find my self rooting for the folks whom I find despicable in real life. I first read this about six years ago, and after I felt it was good but not as strong as Pop or Killer; now I rank it right up there with those classics. This quick read has one of the more intriguing endings, too.

There are no heroes in The Getaway. As a matter of fact there is no-one who is remotely likable, trustworthy or who contains a shred of decency. It's about a group of criminals who are just as dangerous to their colleagues as they are to the innocent victims who cross their paths.The story starts off with the well-planned and executed robbery of a bank. During and immediately after the heist the criminals' callous disregard for human life is displayed. These are ruthless, desperate and even deranged people. We then follow their getaway as they do their best to stay a step ahead of the law.The main characters are the husband and wife team of Doc and Carol McCoy. Theirs is a tense relationship with Doc's ever-present menace thinly hidden by his outward calm demeanour. The tension in the relationship stems from the fact that Carol is well aware of what Doc is capable and doesn't quite trust him. He rules with a soft voice but backs up with a fist of iron which can hit with devastating suddenness.I thought the ending was brilliantly ironic and packed with poetic justice. It's not one of those shock endings, rather it's a slow realisation that begins to dawn and then has the power to remain in the consciousness long after finishing the book. On the whole, this is a dark look at the underbelly of society told with a brutal frankness that sets the mood to perfection.

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.

The book begins wth a bank robbery masterminded by the criminal genius Doc McCoy. The rest of the plot involves the desperate escape from the authorities. The best part of this book is the ending, in which everybody gets what they deserve. Two movies have been made of this book. The most recent movie (starring the vile Alex Baldwin and Kim Basinger) was terrible. Do not let the movie prevent you from reading this book. The best part - the ending- was left out of both movies to make the characters appear more noble . They are not noble. They are treacherous murderous theives. If your idea of a good time is to spend time with hard-boiled criminals with black hearts, then this is the book for you