Crime Partners

I read this for class in library school as an example of "trashy crime/detective fiction." Nowadays, this would fall into the category of "urban fiction," which has exploded in popularity in the last decade or so. Clearly Goines has experienced a resurgence in readership because this reprint was not available when I read the book. My copy looked like someone had kicked it around the floor of a bus station men's room. Unfortunately, Goines died in 1974 (murdered at age 37) so he isn't around to surf the current urban fiction wave. He would probably be treated like a god today. Goines was influenced by Iceberg Slim, a reformed pimp turned author, whose books were notably missing from the shelves of the Richland County Public Library. Here show more are my comments that I turned in for class:

"This book includes explicit violence and sex described using the most basic, stripped-down sentence structures I've read in a long time [note: don't think I'd read much of the minimalists by that point]. There are a lot of misprints and sometimes even half a word is missing. Race is a big issue, as well as the futile and volatile nature of crime. I have to admit I kinda liked it. Goines is a pretty decent storyteller, even though his writing is pretty horrible." show less

A quick read, and pretty intense. Also wraps up really quickly.