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2.0étoiles sur 5
Bizarre and confusing, Aoû 22 2002
I'm a big Thompson fan; THE GOLDEN GIZMO is the 12th of his books I've read. Unfortunately, it may be my least favorite so far. The story is about Toddy Kent, a typical Thompson grifter who is working as a door-to-door gold buyer (does anyone really do this job?). He's semi-legit now because he's working for an honest gold buyer. However, in a typical Thompson ploy, he accidentally gets into trouble by knocking on the wrong door while trying to buy gold. In this house, Toddy encounters a chinless man, a Hispanic woman, and a talking dog. Yes, the dog talks. I like some surreal writing, but the device of having the dog talk wasn't really used to much benefit here and really just undermined the action for me. Toddy becomes entangled in various problems related to the chinless man and corrupt gold sellers. The plot hinges on far too many coincidences for my taste, and it really was just too confusing. Almost every other chapter ends with someone else clobbering Toddy or pulling a gun on him. All of Thompson's skills as a crime noir writer seemed to have deserted him with this book, much like Toddy's golden gizmo. If you're a fan of Thompson, THE GOLDEN GIZMO is a passable read. Otherwise, I suggest Thompson classics like THE GRIFTERS or THE GETAWAY.
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2.0étoiles sur 5
Mission Improbable, Avril 30 2000
This is almost a decent novel. If it didn't come from the author of that masterpiece, "The Grifters," I might have given it an extra star or two. What's really painful is that there's a lot of good stuff here. The characters, as always, are fascinating. And only Jim Thompson could make a talking dog a convincing player in a noir thriller! But his cleverness here only serves to highlight his childish plot gimmicks. When you find out what happened to The Missing Body, you'll want to scream in frustration.
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5.0étoiles sur 5
What happens to the confidence man who tries to go straight?, Mars 4 2000
Like most of Jim Thompson's novels, the story turns on a series of criminal events. Toddy Kent is a man with the "golden gizmo" -- a psychic sense that can lead him to riches just as readily as to disaster. This book is textured with curiosities -- Teddy is married to a woman who drives him mad; a gold buyer for a reputable dealer, he stumbles into a steady supply of the highest grade gold and finds himself pursued by a ruthless, chinless man, a beautiful young woman, and a blood-thirsty dog that can talk and sings hymns. Most other writers would see the story fall around their ears, but Thompson deftly, gleefully pulls it off!
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