Rating: 
Summary: A Comic Masterpiece
Review: "Pop 1280" is so full of paradoxes that it probably shouldn't work at all. It is beautiful yet brutal, poetic yet profane, hilarious yet horrifying. It deserves to be ranked among the great literary masterpieces of the American south. It is funnier than Eudora Welty's "Ponder Heart" or "The Robber Bridegroom," more depraved than Faulkner's "Sanctuary," and every bit as gripping as "To Kill A Mockingbird." Narrator/protagonist Nick Corey possesses as original and interesting a voice as Ignatius J. Reilley or Nick Carroway. Corey is a liar, a cheat, a glutton, an adulterer, a murderer, and a politician -- all the things we decent folk despise most -- but he is also a marvellously entertaining storyteller. Corey is as vile and repellent as Atticus Finch is good and decent, but I'd be hardpressed to say which one I'd rather sit and listen to for a couple of hours.
Rating: 
Summary: Sarcastically Typically Thompson
Review: After I read the interesting »The Killer Inside Me«, I had appetite for more Jim Thompson, and my choice fell on »Pop. 1280«. The story is pretty much the same in those two novels, only is the main character's complex and slightly psychopathic personality different. In a way, the sheriff in »Pop. 1280« has more sympathetic sides than the deputy in »The Killer Inside Me«Once again, JimThompson successfully creates a thrilling environment in a tiny Texan county, and it is all experienced from inside the killer's mind. This way of telling a story works out very well, it glues your eyes to the book - and what's more is that Jim Thompson writes with a lot of humour and sarcasm. This gives the whole thing even more spice, and is maybe even the best feature of »Pop. 1280«. I am very close to grant this novel 4 stars, but somehow, all in all, the book disappoints compared to »The Killer Inside Me«. If you want well-written, straight-forward, and very (black-)humourous suspense, Jim Thomson is your man, and »Pop. 1280« is not at all a bad choice!
Rating:
Summary: Greatest cop since Dirty Harry
Review: Dude, this guy is the baddest sherriff in these here parts! He's a psycho, plain and simple! But man, is he cool!
Rating:
Summary: Greatest cop since Dirty Harry
Review: Dude, this guy is the baddest sherriff in these here parts! He's a psycho, plain and simple! But man, is he cool!
Rating:
Summary: Thompson's masterpiece
Review: For my money, POP.1280, is Jim Thompson's best work, combining his talents for characterization, hard boiled crime tales, a sense of the absurd, and social commentary. The lead character of the small town sheriff, who is a cunning psychopath masquerading as a simpleton, is one of modern literatures most stunning villains. The character's nihilism, lack of empathy, and the ability to use people's flaws in his favor, make him a sort of Texan Iago.
Rating:
Summary: So much more than just a crime novel
Review: I wonder if Jim Thompson has ever been declared the master of crime novel fiction? If he hasn't, then he certainly gets my vote! No one writes tales that are more cynical, more twisted or more accurate in their perceptions of human depravity. You can have Chandler, Cain, Ellroy, Hammett and all the rest. Thompson tops them all. The most unique thing about Thompson's novels is that he really has no moral center in any of them. In fact, in this book, he even puts you in the shoes of the despicable main character. The novel concerns a bumbling sheriff in a small Southern town, who seems to be a spineless coward and a lazy lay-about. All is not as it seems however, as the sheriff proves to be much more intelligent than anyone would dream of giving him credit for. Thompson mined similar terrain in his book 'The Killer inside Me', but this novel actually tops that one in terms of nastiness and its vitriolic view of human nature. There are a few elements in Thompson's book that strike me as unique. One is his pessimistic misanthropy which takes things a step further from the previous generations of crime novelists. There are no private investigators with a heart of gold here. Another is his dismantling of the idea of America's heartland as being this place of good souls and kind neighbourliness. Thompson was from Oklahoma and, as he knows the surrounding areas intimately, his novels seem to take place in the American South and Southwest. He exposes it as a place that's even MORE corrupt than in the big cities. Chandler, Cain and a lot of other writers usually focused on places like New York and L.A. as the pillars of American decadence. Thompson points out that the WHOLE of America is a swirling cesspool of self-interested swindlers and the only thing that varies is scale. The Sheriff in the novel carefully depicts the town as a stifling, rabid and, dare I say, neo-Facist community, where any behaviour outside the norm is abhorred and subject to the townfolks' vindictive whims. The Sheriff sees all this and schemes and plots ways to maintain his 'easy' lifestyle. The ironic thing is that all the running around and strees seem like MORE work than maybe just making an honest living. What seems most universal about the book is that the main protagonists struggle to maintain his position atop the heap, no matter how small and useless it is, is a reflection of what goes on all over the world, every day, for as long as people have been around. Admittedly, it's bleak, but it's extremely fascinating. One reality is that people will do anything and everything when power and money is involved. This is, by far, Thompson's most sinister character in any of his books. The fact that the Sheriff gets away with what he does, under the guise of sub-civility, is an idictment of the people that we are expected to most trust and respect in this world. This book is probably Thompson's finest work, even though 'The Killer Inside Me' is far more popular. He encapsulates his feelings towards the world so vividly here that I couldn't put the book down. I finished it in two days it was so good. It amazes me how he can capture the black heart of the world, the root of what makes everything function, in such a compact form. Bravo Jimmy! You hit the nail right on the head. Oh, and I love the film noir-ish book covers on all of Thompson's books. They're just beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: Please read this
Review: I'm writing this mainly to warn readers that the review below attributed to "a reader from Pennsylvania" gives away the ending to this merciless book with no warning at all. It's an ending worth not knowing. I thought this was the funniest book I ever read until I realized it was trying to kill me.
Rating:
Summary: So good I'm going to sound like a cheesebag in this review.
Review: I've read a lot of Thompson, and he really does have quite a few good ones under his belt, but this is far and away the crown jewel. It's The Killer Inside Me elevated to an entirely different level. Thompson tried his hand at crime fiction, depression-era social commentary, comedy and a host of other genres, and he seems to have combined everything he ever learned as a writer into the incredibly well-written, funny, shocking, economical Pop. 1280. Allright, it's a frickin masterpiece. It tempts one to use phrases like "one of the great achievements of 20th centurey American literature." It will, of course, never be regarded as such due to the modest circumstances under which Thompson wrote and was published, and the book itself is quite modest. Like it's main character and narrator, it presents itself as affable, charming but goofy, of no great consequence, lulls you, and then wallops you with the fact of how remarkable it is. Nonetheless, I honestly think this should be up there with Faulkner, et. al. when academics make their lists of the high points of American Modernism (or whatever). Plotting isn't usually Thompson's strong suit, but Pop. 1280 is incredibly polished. Revelations that come later in the book are shocking, but on subsequent readings (which are well-deserved) it's obvious that they were being given away from the beginning. It's always quite an achievement when a writer manages this, and it's done perfectly here, and using a first-person narration. Nick Corey is one of the most distinctive narrative voices I've ever read, and few writers have created a character more likeable, funny or disturbing. As the singular narrator of the novel, Corey manages to be charming and sympathetic enough to keep the reader interested on that basis alone, acts ridiculous while voicing Thompson's most serious social critiques, and is dangerously crazy, all at the same time and without ever seeming incoherent or out of character. It's incredible (really) writing and, you know, "a remarkable achievement." I, ah, cherish this book. (also recommended: Robert Polito's Jim Thompson biography Savage Art)
Rating:
Summary: rock & roll
Review: it dont git any better then this
joe bob says chech it out, man
Rating:
Summary: Nothing more than a masterpiece
Review: It seems that just about everyone I know gets their start with jim Thompson by reading THE KILLER INSIDE ME, and I was no different. And as good as that book is, POP. 1280 quite simply floors it. POP. 1280 is a maniacal ride through the life of Sheriff Nick Corey. He plays himself off as the town fool while wickedly orchestrating both pranks and murders. You will laugh out loud when you read the dirty little stunt he pulls on the bank president. It is truly to Thompson's credit that he is able to make Corey so unashamedly ruthless. And the thing is, you grow to like the guy. Make no mistake, he's every bit as evil as Lou Ford, except you just wouldn't mind sitting down to have a beer with this guy. In the end, almost all of Thompson's novels are, at the very least, worth reading. The man was a true american novelist who was unfairly tagged as a "pulp" or "mystery" or "crime" writer. The man wrote about people. Bad people, yeah, but still people, just like you and me. Do yourself a favor, read POP. 1280 and just see if you don't get hooked.
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