The Rip-Off

I am a huge Jim Thompson fan. I think he is quite possibly the most under appreciated modern American fiction author. So I want to warn other fans of Thompson if you pick this book up expecting a standard Thompson novel you will be very disappointed. Where as Thompson's novels are usually dark and brooding this one is dark and comic. There are times when its a little over the top but other times where it really strikes a chord. The whole idea of the hero whose home is next to an ever expanding mountain of garbage is a great metaphor for modern America. So if you are new to Thompson by all means DON'T buy this book. Get After Dark My Sweet, or The Killer Inside Me, or The Getaway, or The Grifters. But if you have read all those books already and are a Thompson fan and want to see him take an interesting trek in a different direction check this out.

-Rip Off is worth a read, especially for the Jim Thompson enthusiast. Last thing Thompson wrote before he died. The first chapter just tugs you right in. Forget about putting it down. The protagonist is great. Any man who thinks he was meant for bigger and better will associate with him. Ok- so here's the question...I read the New Black Mask Quarterly #1 in 1985 which included the First few chapters of Rip Off. However it said that Thompson died before he could arrange the typescript. That's the problem. You can really tell that Jim Thompson couldn't go back to put his finishing touches on the story. But read it anyway. Its still better than anything Robert B. Parker ever wrote. amen