Customer Reviews

Difficult Lives: Jim Thompson-David Goodis-Chester Hines

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Sallis has written a beautiful concentrated gem of a book, no doubt hard to get by now. Unique and insightful, and really essential for anyone who wants to understand how and why these noir masters were able to create and produce what they did. If you are intrigued by any of them, don't miss it; and if you are as mesmerized by Jim Thompson as I am, you can't live without this jewel. (And don't even think about asking for my 'signed edition'...its staying with the first edition Thompson paperbacks that surround it.)

This short book is a collection of essays which explores the phenomenon of original paperback novels, with special attention paid to the lives and works of the three writers mentioned in the title.
James Sallis explains how each author's individual demons influenced his writing. And he demonstrates how each of the three used the medium of pulp fiction to create novels which shatter the reader's preconceived notions of reality while unapologetically exposing the ugly side of human existence.
For fans of noir literature, Difficult Lives is a worthwhile read.