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A review by bobisimo
Pop. 1280 by Jim Thompson
4.0
Pop. 1280 is a book I decided to read because I read that the filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (Alps, Dogtooth, The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, etc.) may be planning to adapt it into a movie. I got curious what kind of story he might read and think, "that's what I want to adapt." Well, Pop. 1280 is exactly what I should have expected (in all the best ways).
The main character is Nick Corey, a small-town sheriff. Corey grabbed me at first because of his demeanor: dumb, cowardly, passive, and self-indulgent. What kind of problems did he have? How can someone like this deal with problems that are difficult to navigate? Is this hedonistic idiot really the hero? I was curious. Plus, I liked the comedic stylings. I say "comedic," and it is, but it's a specific type of understated, dumb humor that, I think, may not work for most but matches up well with what Lanthimos does, and is a type I really appreciate. Here's an example from the first page:
"You might say I didn't really get no sleep at all. I'd climb in bed, thinking this was one night I was bound to sleep, but I wouldn't. It'd be maybe twenty or thirty minutes before I could doze off. And then, no more than eight or nine hours later, I'd wake up. Wide awake. And I couldn't go back to sleep, frazzled and wore out as I was."
So, as the story goes, Corey has himself some problems, and doesn't seem to have the tools to resolve them. For example, one of his problems is that there are a couple pimps in town who are making his life difficult, bullying him, pushing him around, talking down to him, etc. Being bullied by pimps, when you're the sheriff, isn't a good look, especially when the next election for sheriff is coming up, so Corey needs to resolve the situation in his favor, but being who he is, he can't just beat them up, lock them up, or warn them away. In other words, he can't just "be the sheriff" like many expect of him -- which, by the way, leads to one of the book's main themes, about whether people actually want law enforcement to stop any law-breaking, or just the kind that "other people" do.
I won't spoil his solutions, but before long it becomes clear that Corey isn't at all dumb or passive or cowardly. He's clever and observant and manipulative and strategic, and absolutely psychopathic. It's a real joy to watch him navigate his various problems, to watch him solve these puzzles, in a comedic setting that is firmly founded in Corey's perspective, one that doesn't judge him or call undue attention to his psychopathy.
I don't usually read books all that quickly, but Pop. 1280 is an easy read, a page-turner, and not too long besides -- with an anti-hero, some amusing humor, clever problem-solving, observational commentary on philosophy and politics, and salaciousness, things I enjoy -- so I knocked it out in maybe just a handful of hours over the course of the weekend.
The ending, basically just the last few pages, went all-in on Corey as delusional in a way that I didn't love. He had been so "country clever" or "street smart" throughout the book, rational and mostly relatable, that the ending felt a little judgmental, like the author pulling back and saying "but no, seriously, this guy is crazy!" But otherwise, I loved the book start to finish, and think that Lanthimos' take should work out better than, from how it sounds, Coup de Torchon went.
The main character is Nick Corey, a small-town sheriff. Corey grabbed me at first because of his demeanor: dumb, cowardly, passive, and self-indulgent. What kind of problems did he have? How can someone like this deal with problems that are difficult to navigate? Is this hedonistic idiot really the hero? I was curious. Plus, I liked the comedic stylings. I say "comedic," and it is, but it's a specific type of understated, dumb humor that, I think, may not work for most but matches up well with what Lanthimos does, and is a type I really appreciate. Here's an example from the first page:
"You might say I didn't really get no sleep at all. I'd climb in bed, thinking this was one night I was bound to sleep, but I wouldn't. It'd be maybe twenty or thirty minutes before I could doze off. And then, no more than eight or nine hours later, I'd wake up. Wide awake. And I couldn't go back to sleep, frazzled and wore out as I was."
So, as the story goes, Corey has himself some problems, and doesn't seem to have the tools to resolve them. For example, one of his problems is that there are a couple pimps in town who are making his life difficult, bullying him, pushing him around, talking down to him, etc. Being bullied by pimps, when you're the sheriff, isn't a good look, especially when the next election for sheriff is coming up, so Corey needs to resolve the situation in his favor, but being who he is, he can't just beat them up, lock them up, or warn them away. In other words, he can't just "be the sheriff" like many expect of him -- which, by the way, leads to one of the book's main themes, about whether people actually want law enforcement to stop any law-breaking, or just the kind that "other people" do.
I won't spoil his solutions, but before long it becomes clear that Corey isn't at all dumb or passive or cowardly. He's clever and observant and manipulative and strategic, and absolutely psychopathic. It's a real joy to watch him navigate his various problems, to watch him solve these puzzles, in a comedic setting that is firmly founded in Corey's perspective, one that doesn't judge him or call undue attention to his psychopathy.
I don't usually read books all that quickly, but Pop. 1280 is an easy read, a page-turner, and not too long besides -- with an anti-hero, some amusing humor, clever problem-solving, observational commentary on philosophy and politics, and salaciousness, things I enjoy -- so I knocked it out in maybe just a handful of hours over the course of the weekend.
The ending, basically just the last few pages, went all-in on Corey as delusional in a way that I didn't love. He had been so "country clever" or "street smart" throughout the book, rational and mostly relatable, that the ending felt a little judgmental, like the author pulling back and saying "but no, seriously, this guy is crazy!" But otherwise, I loved the book start to finish, and think that Lanthimos' take should work out better than, from how it sounds, Coup de Torchon went.