Book Review: The Grifters is my first Jim Thompson novel. Unfortunately I saw the 1990 film version with Anjelica Huston and John Cusack a few years ago, and that left me unable to give the book a truly fresh reading; from what I remember the movie stayed fairly close to the book. This is a gritty, street tough novel that seems to know what it's talking about, with just enough intelligence to make the reader feel good about reading it (I mean, come on, he mentions Dostoyevsky -- how often did Mickey Spillane do that?). Contrary to the usual noir genre, our protagonist in The Grifters is not a tough guy, doesn't carry a gun, and delivers no punches. He's no Mike Hammer. In fact he gets beaten more than doing the beating up. Thompson throws in the unexpected with ease and moves the story along at a steady pace. It had a twisted James M. Cain feel about it that I liked, and that's a compliment. There are themes and issues that I wouldn't expect from a crime noir novel that's doing its best to be pulp fiction, with depths that take a while to sink in and that I didn't see while reading. After a near-death incident our "hero" has to make a decision, and he's challenged by three women (representing his past, present, and future), each of whom confront him with the choices he can make. The meaning of life, the future, what do we want out of life, these are just some of the issues we get to think about. I think if I hadn't previously seen the film, The Grifters would have been even stronger and hit me a little harder. This was a good read; I want to read more Jim Thompson. [3½★]
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