Pop. 1280
First edition
|
|
| Author | Jim Thompson |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | Gold Medal Books |
|
Publication date
|
1964 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 143 pp |
Pop. 1280 is a crime novel by Jim Thompson, published in 1964. NPR's Stephen Marche described it as Thompson's "true masterpiece, a preposterously upsetting, ridiculously hilarious layer cake of nastiness, a romp through a world of nearly infinite deceit."
Pop. 1280 is the first-person narrative of Nick Corey, the listless sheriff of Potts County, the "47th largest county in the state". He lives in Pottsville which has a population of "1280 souls".
Sheriff Nick Corey presents himself as a genial fool, simplistic, over-accommodating, and harmless to a fault, given he is Pottsville's sole lawman. From the outset Nick's problems appear to be those of a harmless fool, managing his shrew wife and idiot brother-in-law while simultaneously having affairs in town; negotiations with criminals and undesirables in Pottsville; the evasion of work; and a difficult election campaign against a more worthy candidate.
Pop. 1280 was adapted as the French film Coup de Torchon (1981), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, set in French West Africa in 1938.
...
Wikipedia