Scan barcode
petra_reads's review against another edition
4.0
My original Thieves Like Us audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.
Thieves Like Us was originally published in 1937 and is part of the American Noir of the 1930s and 40s collection. It provided the basis for two films: They Live By Night (1949) and Thieves Like Us (1974).
The story focuses on Bowie, Chicamaw, and T-Dub. Bowie, the youngest of them, killed a guy when he was 16. Chicamaw and T-Dub are convicted bank robbers. Following their escape from a chain gang, they continue robbing banks in order to get smart clothes, fast cars, and more guns. Bowie becomes romantically involved with Keechie, a young girl who is related to Chicamaw and who works at a gas station where they hide out. Set in the 1930s in Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, this is a Depression-era story with a good bit of social commentary, with bankers referred to as “thieves like us” and politicians who “use their damned tongues instead of a gun.”
I found the story slow to start with, as there was a lot of conversation between the three men that I didn’t find particularly engrossing. Once the plot started to focus on Bowie and Keechie, I found myself a lot more engaged. But action-packed, this isn’t. In fact, a lot of the action, such as the bank robberies, chases etc, is described retrospectively via newspaper articles. I thought that was quite a good narrative device as the media account of the “dangerous” criminals didn’t tally at all with their rather dull lives of hiding out, reading the paper and discussing ball games.
There was a feeling of unease right from the start which turned to unavoidable doom at the latest by the time Bowie and Keechie set off road tripping and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ automatically came to mind. This is hard-boiled crime fiction, but quite moving in parts. Bowie was a really interesting character, extremely loyal and also generous, defiantly proclaiming “I never robbed nothin’ that couldn’t stand being robbed.” However, when he reminisced about Keechie, he sometimes came across as a total psychopath thinking “I can snap her little body. I can break her little body in my grip.” Their relationship was difficult to believe at times.
The narration by Mike Dennis was first-class. His voice suited the protagonists, the pacing was excellent and his delivery really captured the setting. You felt transported back to that period in time and the story came to life.
This is classic noir, and if you appreciate stories of inevitable self-destruction, then this is an appealing listen that perfectly captures the 30s Depression era.
Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com
Thieves Like Us was originally published in 1937 and is part of the American Noir of the 1930s and 40s collection. It provided the basis for two films: They Live By Night (1949) and Thieves Like Us (1974).
The story focuses on Bowie, Chicamaw, and T-Dub. Bowie, the youngest of them, killed a guy when he was 16. Chicamaw and T-Dub are convicted bank robbers. Following their escape from a chain gang, they continue robbing banks in order to get smart clothes, fast cars, and more guns. Bowie becomes romantically involved with Keechie, a young girl who is related to Chicamaw and who works at a gas station where they hide out. Set in the 1930s in Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma, this is a Depression-era story with a good bit of social commentary, with bankers referred to as “thieves like us” and politicians who “use their damned tongues instead of a gun.”
I found the story slow to start with, as there was a lot of conversation between the three men that I didn’t find particularly engrossing. Once the plot started to focus on Bowie and Keechie, I found myself a lot more engaged. But action-packed, this isn’t. In fact, a lot of the action, such as the bank robberies, chases etc, is described retrospectively via newspaper articles. I thought that was quite a good narrative device as the media account of the “dangerous” criminals didn’t tally at all with their rather dull lives of hiding out, reading the paper and discussing ball games.
There was a feeling of unease right from the start which turned to unavoidable doom at the latest by the time Bowie and Keechie set off road tripping and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ automatically came to mind. This is hard-boiled crime fiction, but quite moving in parts. Bowie was a really interesting character, extremely loyal and also generous, defiantly proclaiming “I never robbed nothin’ that couldn’t stand being robbed.” However, when he reminisced about Keechie, he sometimes came across as a total psychopath thinking “I can snap her little body. I can break her little body in my grip.” Their relationship was difficult to believe at times.
The narration by Mike Dennis was first-class. His voice suited the protagonists, the pacing was excellent and his delivery really captured the setting. You felt transported back to that period in time and the story came to life.
This is classic noir, and if you appreciate stories of inevitable self-destruction, then this is an appealing listen that perfectly captures the 30s Depression era.
Audiobook provided for review by the audiobookreviewer.com
More...