Savage Art : A Biography Of Jim Thompson - Robert Polito

When I finished reading this biography, I felt a sense of sadness during its final pages, as Jim Thompson struggled with illness and a series of strokes. Reading Savage Art felt like following the entire epic of one man's life and his relentless passion for writing.

I must admit that the opening chapters were a little slow for me, with their detailed account of Thompson's ancestors. However, once the book moved beyond that, I came to know not only the ultimate noir writer, but also the man behind the novels: a caring father, a devoted husband, an introvert, and, sadly, a heavy drinker.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the biography is that, by learning about Thompson, I also learned about America during his lifetime. Before becoming one of the greatest crime novelists, he worked as a true crime reporter, an oil field journalist, a bellboy—where he encountered many of the criminal types that later populated his fiction—a hobo, and many other odd jobs. His complicated love-hate relationship with his father is another compelling thread running throughout the book.

For me, the biography truly comes alive once Thompson begins writing for Lion Books. As Robert Polito explains, his finest novels can be divided into two broad groups: the first-person psychopathic narratives such as The Killer Inside Me, Savage Night, A Hell of a Woman, Pop. 1280, and The Nothing Man; and the omniscient, multiple-perspective novels such as The Kill-Off and Nothing More Than Murder. I also enjoyed reading about Thompson's collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on the adaptation of Lionel White's Clean Break (The Killing), his frustrating experiences in Hollywood, and the sadness of seeing such an original writer receive so little recognition during his lifetime.

Fortunately, that story has a happier ending. Roughly a decade after his death, Thompson's novels began to be rediscovered. They were republished by the cult Black Lizard imprint, while French films such as Série noire and Coup de Torchon helped introduce his work to a wider audience. Thompson eventually became the celebrated noir writer he had always deserved to be.

Finally, I should mention the edition itself. Serpent's Tail has done an excellent job producing this biography. I especially liked its distinctive smell, which reminded me of the old comic books I owned as a child, as well as the generous selection of photographs that accompany the text.