Pop. 1280

From the moment I began reading POP. 1280, the classic crime novel by the late Jim Thompson, I gained a tremendous appreciation for how masterfully the author gave his characters "voice." And if you are a budding author who hasn't grasped the meaning of "voice," then by all means, read this book.

Essentially, there are two definitions for the literary term "voice": the first determines what makes a writer's style unique and sets him or her part from others in the same genre; and the second relates to how we experience the story from a character's point of view (POV), as expressed in their singular speech patterns, actions, and thoughts.

While POP. 1280--published in 1964--exemplifies Thompson's voice as an author; it serves as an even greater example of how writers should give characters their distinctive voice--and maintain it throughout the novel.

POP. 1280 is the first-person story of Nick Corey, a small-town Southern sheriff in the early days of the 20th century. In his own words, Corey tells us--without saying so directly--that he is a lazy, unmotivated fellow who prefers eating and sleeping all day to doing any real law enforcement work. He presents himself to the reader and everyone he meets as a no-account simpleton. But through his own words, we learn that on the contrary, he's quite cunning, clever, and conniving. He cheats on his nagging wife and is adept at covering his tracks, no matter what malfeasance he commits. In one unnerving scene, he confronts a victim with a speech that defies his down-home, awe-shucks persona and exposes to the reader his real self: He's a homicidal sociopath with a flair for twisting words and meanings to deflect suspicion and cast blame for his misdeeds on others.

Throughout the novel, Thompson maintains Nick Corey's voice to the point you feel as if you're living inside the man's head. It's that effective.

In POP. 1280, Nick Corey speaks and thinks like a yokel; at no point does Thompson betray this characterization by suddenly putting 50-cent words in his mouth. Instead, by giving Nick his individual voice both in word and thought, Jim Thompson made him real--almost too real.

High Sheriff Nick Corey acts like a simpleton, he doesn’t arrest anyone, he doesn’t stir the pot, he acts and behaves the exact way everyone wants him to act; well at least the way he thinks he should act. But this kind and gentle nature is just a cover from his sinister attitude. But has this side of Nick always been there, or was this just a result of always acting the way he thinks he should?

The way Nick Corey acts, the lies and manipulating as scary; it’s like Jim Thompson is holding a mirror up to the reader and says ‘See, this is how you act’ (well maybe it was just for me). But with all the raging I was doing at Nick Corey, I almost missed just how brilliant this book really is.

Jim Thompson is very experimental with his writing, and while he never really got the recognition he deserved when he was a live, his books are dark, gritty and always ringing an element of truth in it. No one has ever done characters quiet like Jim Thompson; characters that always hiding their true nature and acting the way people want them to act, while hiding the darkness. Fans of pulp novels will enjoy this book, but people looking for a light, easy read then this book will not do.