Pop. 1280 (1964) by Jim Thompson

 Nigel's choice

Theme: Noir

READ: Pop. 1280 (1964) by Jim Thompson

To varying degrees we all loved Jim Thompson’s Pop. 1280. Some even bandied around the word masterpiece and it is rather splendid.

Nick Corey is a terrible sheriff on purpose. He doesn't solve problems, enforce rules or arrest criminals. He knows that nobody in tiny Potts County actually wants to follow the law and he is perfectly content lazing about, eating five meals a day, and sleeping with all the eligible women.

Still, Nick has some very complex problems to deal with. Two local pimps have been sassing him, ruining his already tattered reputation. His girlfriend Rose is being terrorized by her husband. And then, there's his wife and her brother Lenny who won't stop troubling Nick's already stressed mind. Are they a little too close for a brother and a sister?

With an election coming up, Nick needs to fix his problems and fast. Because the one thing Nick does know is that he will do anything to stay sheriff. Because, as it turns out, Sheriff Nick Corey is not nearly as dumb as he seems.

In Pop. 1280 , widely regarded as a classic of mid-20th century crime, Thompson offers up one of his best, in a tale of lust, murder, and betrayal in the Deep South that was the basis for the critically acclaimed French film Coup de Torchon .

Nick 9.5 / Tristan 8 / Nigel 8 / Keith 7 / Roland 9 / Robin 8.5 / Hamish 7.5

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A bit more of a mixed reception for Asylum Years. Nigel, Nick and Hamish loved it. Tristan didn’t get it. Everyone else was somewhere in between

Nigel and Roland loved it

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Nigel and Roland were all in on why this is a masterpiece and loved it. Others felt it had not stood the test of time. Strange but true.

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