Safe Return Doubtful

On and off over the 87 years since its publication this book has enjoyed periods when it extremely highly thought of, and others when it was out of print and forgotten.

Now, it does feel a bit dated, but its still interesting to know what all the fuss was about. Indeed it is still recognised as a ground-breaking piece of crime fiction.
Its a book that is very representative of the Depression, about desperate people doing whatever they need to in order to survive.
When it was first published, Anderson was compared to Faulkner and Hemingway, such was the hype. Twice it was adapted as a movie, though neither time very successful.

It is the story of three escaped convicts, Elmo ‘Chicamaw’ Mobley, T.W. ‘T-Dub’ Masefield and ‘Bowie’ Bowers. They break out of Alcatona, Oklamaha prison in 1935 when on a fishing trip, and return to the only life they know, bank hold-ups.

Bank robbery in the Depression was thought of differently; so many had lost so much in the crash that bankers were considered thieves. Bonnie and Clyde’s first robbery was the year before. Just steal enough cash, then go straight. But that cash is spent before you know it, so another robbery beckons. And so on..

The press went crazy for these stories, especially if they involved young lovers on the lam.
That’s the story here, but it is handled with great skill. When the boys decide on one last hold-up, we know trouble lies ahead. Anderson’s real strength is writing dialogue. Much of it bears a second reading its so striking.

My GoodReads score 4 / 5