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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Enjoyable Thompson Book,
By
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This review is from: A Swell-Looking Babe (Paperback)
I've read quite a few of Jim Thompson's potboiler books, and A SWELL-LOOKING BABE is one of the most enjoyable. The protagonist is Bill "Dusty" Rhoades, a bellboy in a second-rate hotel. Dusty is a good-looking intelligent guy. He had to drop his plans for med school to care for his adoptive father, who lost his job in the school district for alleged Communist activities. Dusty resents his father and misses his mother, who died a few years earlier. Into the picture walks Marcia Hillis, the eponymous 'swell-looking babe,' who becomes a guest at the hotel. Dusty figures that Marcia is on the make, but he can't help falling for her anyway. Mix in a crazy mob figure (Tug Towbridge) and assorted other characters, and you have a rollicking good story. Unlike many other of Thompson's protagonists (e.g., THE KILLER INSIDE ME, POP. 1280), Dusty is not crazy. He's just a normal, but angry guy who is looking for a way out of his unpleasant life circumstances. Of course, he does things that the average person would not do. Making one sympathetic for such characters is one of Thompson's gifts and part of makes him such a great writer. Highly recommended.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy this book without hesitation! Just do it!,
By Sean Lynch (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Swell-Looking Babe (Paperback)
I just read this book for the second time. The first time was fifteen years ago. I've read most of Thompson's books, and in my opinion, this book is his best, slightly edging out A Hell of a Woman and Cropper's Cabin. For the most part, I read literary fiction and the "classics." Make no mistake, I consider Thompsen to be one of the finest writers of the 20th century. That said, this novel, like his others, is not without flaws, plot holes, and underdeveloped characters. What this has going for it is that it starts out so innocently. Thompson sets up the reader for the harshest fall, a descent into the most tortuous psychological hell imaginable. Things are not what they seem, and by the time you, the reader, figure this out, you will be too hooked to put it down. I have never experienced a book that so successfully pulls the rug out from under the reader. The graphic details of contemporary fiction are missing, but the genius of Thompson is that even without these details, the underlying anger will shake you to the core. If you are looking for a mystery whodunit in the Agasta Christie vein, don't read this. If you're looking for psychological horror crafted by a genius, this is your book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paging Dr. Freud.,
By
This review is from: A Swell-Looking Babe (Paperback)
No one could ever accuse Jim Thompson of playing it safe. A Swell-Looking Babe contains material that many readers will find to be outside their comfort zone. To be more specific, the book has an underlying theme of Oedipal love which, in places, gets a bit graphic.
Much of the narrative takes place in the Manton Hotel. Bill "Dusty" Rhodes is the lone bellboy on the graveyard shift. His dream of pursuing higher education has been put on hold because he has to work to support himself and his disabled father. Dusty's mother is deceased but her memory lives on in a very unhealthy way in his mind. One night a stunning woman, the swell-looking babe of the book's title, checks into the Manton. Her name is Marcia Hillis and she reminds Dusty of dear old Mom. Or could it be that it's not Marcia herself but rather it's the sensual response that Marcia arouses that makes Dusty think of his mother? Rounding out the cast of characters are Bascom, the night desk clerk who may have a checkered past, and Tug Trowbridge, a crude racketeer who makes the Manton his home. The plot is a cleverly crafted one with a number of unexpected twists. Suffice it to say that a serious crime takes place with young Mr. Rhodes unwillingly playing a central role. A Swell-Looking Babe is worthy of a 5 star rating for a number of reasons. It has great dialogue. Thompson has his characters speak in ways that are well nuanced and authentic sounding. The narrative unfolds smoothly even though it is at times difficult to determine whether something is actually happening or merely being imagined by the main character, Dusty Rhodes. Rather than detracting from the novel's effectiveness, this blurring of the border between the real and the surreal serves to enhance reader involvement. Moreover, Thompson does a great job of describing what it's like at night in a hotel whose best days are behind it. Few writers would have dared to pursue the Oedipal theme to the extent that Jim Thompson did in this book. In doing so, he took a risky path which will undoubtedly turn off some readers. A Swell-Looking Babe is a fine example of Thompson at his iconoclastic best. Well worth reading.
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