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American Literature – published 1946

This was Thompson’s second novel, published in 1946, and though it got reviewed favourably it sold few copies. It’s always sad when an author real fame is achieved after their death.

He had not long previously relocated to California and was working as a bookkeeper in a San Diego aviation factory. This was a time when has alcoholism had worsened to a state to which it was affecting his health; six pints of whisky a day, and the result, a nervous breakdown just after the book was published. He was also in serious financial debt, partly due to the medical bills as he was frequently being admitted to hospital. It leads one to wonder what sort of a life, a career, he would have go on to have if the book had sold well, and his name had become known at a much earlier time.
With those things considered, it makes this book an even more impressive achievement.

This is a is a multi-generational saga following the downfall of the Fargo family at the turn of the 19th century. Lincoln ‘Link’ Fargo, patriarch and bully, has settled in Verdon, Nebraska after acquiring some land through a marriage to Grandmother Pearl. Their son Grant is a lazy flirt with his sights set on his buxom, but volatile cousin Bella. Their other son Sherman is the ignorant, pretentious oaf conned into growing acres of ruined wheat.

Thompson’s dark humour is at its best here, though in effect it is a mix of horror and wit, not so much blended as alternating. Murder, corruption and incarceration all take place, as the story follows the disparate members of the widespread family, each of them alone and struggling despite the size of the family.

With his gritty social realism and his exploration of the dark side of human nature, the critics who did enjoy his work soon nicknamed him the ‘Dimestore Dostoyevsky’. His writing is at its best when it observes the worst in people, their greed, selfishness and borderline insanity. This book is a fine example of his best work.

The only possible annoyance is that some threads are left loose, as this was supposed to be the first of a trilogy. Thompson can be forgiven though, as the poor reception the book received did not stimulate him to continue, rather to lapse him more deeply into poor health.

My GoodReads score 5 / 5