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The Getaway
  
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The Getaway (Paperback)

by Jim Thompson (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Product Description

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Doc McCoy knows everything there is to know about pulling off the perfect bank job. But there are some things he has forgotten--such as a partner who is not only treacherous but insane and a wife who is still an amateur. Worst of all, McCoy has forgotten that when the crime is big and bloody enough, there is no such thing as a clean getaway. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


About the Author

(1906 - 1977) James Meyers Thompson was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He began writing fiction at a very young age, selling his first story to True Detective when he was only fourteen. Thompson eventually wrote twenty-nine novels, all but three of which were published as paperback originals. Thompson also wrote two screenplays (for the Stanley Kubrick films “The Killing” and “Paths of Glory”). An outstanding crime writer, the world of his fiction is rife with violence and corruption. In examining the underbelly of human experience and American society in particular, Thompson’s work at its best is both philosophical and experimental. Several of his novels have been filmed by American and French directors, resulting in classic noir including The Killer Inside Me (1952), After Dark My Sweet (1955), and The Grifters (1963). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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The Getaway
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The Getaway 4.4 out of 5 stars (18)
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Customer Reviews

18 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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2 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (18 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid Characters in an Odd Allegory., May 26 2004
By mirasreviews (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Getaway (Paperback)
True to its title, "The Getaway" tells a story of crooks fleeing a bank job, looking forward to freedom and the good life in Mexico. Doc McCoy is a career criminal, fresh out of a stint in prison. His wife, Carol, is less savvy, but every bit as ruthless. They've just robbed the vault at the Beacon City bank, and now they're on the run. It's not surprising that, in an underworld populated with low-lifes, things don't go exactly as planned.

As "The Getaway" progresses, it becomes less credible and more allegorical. By its end, I realized that the story is fundamentally a parable in the guise of a hard-boiled crime story. The characters are all irredeemable, as is fitting the genre. They're vivid. They act as we have come to expect hardened criminals to act in noir fiction. That's entertaining enough...up to a point. But in the end, "The Getaway" left me unsatisfied, because I didn't find the allegory interesting or believable. I felt that the novel got off to a good start, but went in the wrong direction -or perhaps went about exhibiting its themes the wrong way. Thompson takes the easy way out in making his point with implausible plot elements instead of grounding the story in gritty realism. The dialogue and characters are compelling enough to make the "The Getaway" worthwhile, but it should have been better. I give it 3 1/2 stars.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Sympathy for the damned, Feb 19 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: The Getaway (Paperback)
Jim Thompson's knack is to get me to feel sorry for the bad guy. Just like his other must reads, Pop. 1280 and The Killer Inside Me, I find my self rooting for the folks whom I find despicable in real life. I first read this about six years ago, and after I felt it was good but not as strong as Pop or Killer; now I rank it right up there with those classics. This quick read has one of the more intriguing endings, too.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Trust Nobody, Aug 19 2002
By Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Getaway (Paperback)
There are no heroes in The Getaway. As a matter of fact there is no-one who is remotely likable, trustworthy or who contains a shred of decency. It's about a group of criminals who are just as dangerous to their colleagues as they are to the innocent victims who cross their paths.

The story starts off with the well-planned and executed robbery of a bank. During and immediately after the heist the criminals' callous disregard for human life is displayed. These are ruthless, desperate and even deranged people. We then follow their getaway as they do their best to stay a step ahead of the law.

The main characters are the husband and wife team of Doc and Carol McCoy. Theirs is a tense relationship with Doc's ever-present menace thinly hidden by his outward calm demeanour. The tension in the relationship stems from the fact that Carol is well aware of what Doc is capable and doesn't quite trust him. He rules with a soft voice but backs up with a fist of iron which can hit with devastating suddenness.

I thought the ending was brilliantly ironic and packed with poetic justice. It's not one of those shock endings, rather it's a slow realisation that begins to dawn and then has the power to remain in the consciousness long after finishing the book. On the whole, this is a dark look at the underbelly of society told with a brutal frankness that sets the mood to perfection.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Thompson
"The Getaway" is another classic crime noir from Jim Thompson. The main character, Doc McGraw, is a bank robber who is sprung from jail by his wife, Carol, who may or may not... Read more
Published on April 4 2002 by Westley

4.0 out of 5 stars And another such victory
The Getaway begins with a bank robbery that puts Doc McCoy and his wife Carol to running across country. Read more
Published on Feb 20 2002 by Paul Miller

5.0 out of 5 stars on the road to nowhere...
The Getaway is vintage Jim Thompson: a short, bleak story of 1950s down-and-outs, deadbeats and criminals. Read more
Published on Dec 28 2001 by lazza

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best
THE GETAWAY is one of my favorite Thompson novels. I think a lot of people may be familiar with the Peckinpah film based on this book starring Steve McQueen or the Alec Baldwin... Read more
Published on Aug 29 2001 by Kent Gowran

4.0 out of 5 stars CRIME DOESN'T PAY IN THIS GETAWAY
If you have ever considered robbing a bank, then I suggest you start by reading this book. After 184 pages you'll quickly decide that all you're in for is a life of worry... Read more
Published on Jul 17 2001 by M. E Grant

5.0 out of 5 stars Thompson the Misanthropic Genius
I've read all the novels and storys of 'Dougs' Kafka. Who writes great surreal tense stuff. But no writer I've ever read can hit like Thompson does, Reading his books leaves me... Read more
Published on Jan 16 2001 by Thomas Salter

4.0 out of 5 stars Married Life a la Jim Thompson
I honestly wish some producer or director had the courage to make a true adaptation of this book. This is a caper story, a chase story, and a descent into personal and... Read more
Published on Aug 16 2000 by hb_wichita

5.0 out of 5 stars Comment on Doug Vaughn's review of Jim Thompson
I like your first sentence. One can also replace the name 'Jim Thompson' with the name 'Doug Vaughn' and the words 'pulp fiction' with the word 'criticism' and you get the same... Read more
Published on Jun 25 2000

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Pulp Fiction - if your taste runs to Pulp
Jim Thompson is rightly considered a master of pulp fiction, but then that's sort of like recognizing someone as the best of the bush league. Read more
Published on May 12 2000 by Doug Vaughn

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Crime Book
This book was my first foray into the books of famous pulp writer Thompson, although of course I've seen a few movies based on other work of his (The Grifters, After Dark My... Read more
Published on May 11 2000 by A. Ross

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