Roughneck Summary and Reviews

Roughneck
by Jim Thompson

List Price: ~~$14.00~~
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Author: Jim Thompson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-05-26
ISBN: 0375700331
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Vintage

Book Reviews of Roughneck

Book Review: Autobiographical tall tales.
Summary: 3 Stars

Like its companion piece, Bad Boy, Roughneck is a collection of autobiographical vignettes by the legendary Jim Thompson. While each vignette may contain a kernel of truth, most of them are highly embellished and exaggerated so as to maximize the comedic or, on occasion, the dramatic effect.
Like Bad Boy, Roughneck was largely written to provide the reader with light entertainment. The one place Thompson does get quite serious is where he describes his tenure as director of the Oklahoma state writer's project, a federally funded Depression era program. Here, Thompson's pride in his work comes through and is undeniably real.
But the truth of the matter is that Jim Thompson was ill suited to write autobiography. The things he needed to say about himself can be found within the dark, disturbing pages of his many novels, some of which are now recognized as classics. For the real story of Jim Thompson's life, read Savage Art: A Biography of Jim Thompson by Robert Polito.

Write your own review

More Roughneck reviews:
1