Noir Journal #9 Allan Guthrie's SLAMMER

Slammer by Allan Guthrie (November, 2009)

Read Slammer. And you'll feel a cold steel spike piercing your brain. Vibrating till it gives you a splitting headache. You'll feel your insides sucked out through your belly-button. The images are Guthrie's, and they illustrate the dark ride he takes readers on in his latest thriller.

Shattering Glass  In Slammer, 22-year-old Nick Glass is a newly hired prison guard at an institution Guthrie calls "the Hilton." But Nick is weak, unable to make decisions or to stand up for himself. He's mentally frail, fragile. Guthrie refers to Glass "shattering." Other guards play cruel tricks on him and nickname him "Crystal."

 The prisoners see Glass as an easy mark. They ask him to bring in "gear" (drugs) from their outside supplier. Otherwise their homicidal outside contact named Watt will be visiting Glass's wife Lorna and little girl Caitlin.
How does Glass respond? I won't let on here. I'll let you enjoy and be terrified by Slammer in exactly the way Guthrie lays it out for the reader. 

Yes, Glass is weak. But as the plot begins its dark, suspenseful, jolting twists; Guthrie brings to life a cast of powerfully drawn characters who outshine Glass and underscore his weakness.

Mafia  Mafia, imprisoned for a horrifying murder, always wears dark glasses, because he can't see "further than a couple of inches in front of his nose." (That doesn't stop him from getting a good swing at Glass's jaw, though.) But, Mafia and Glass are friends; he's one of the few inmates Glass can talk to. Glass hopes that Mafia is really innocent of the murders.

Caesar  Caesar is sort of the boss inmate. He's in charge of the smuggling of drugs into the prison. He's a muscular guy whose cellmate "Jasmine" is referred to as "she" and whose huge buddy Horse is constantly watching his back. 

Watt and Mad Will  On the outside are Watt and Mad Will. Watt is the drug connection. He's also the evil thug who comes to see Lorna and Caitlin--to put a scare into Nick. And he's even more dangerous because of his envy of Nick--his own wife and daughter were murdered. Or were they? And, by the way, Watt is Mafia's estranged brother. Mad Will is a pornographer and covert gun dealer. When he sells a gun, though, he makes the buyer promise to use it safely and wisely. Otherwise he won't sell it.  

Humor, Farce and Grotesque Terror  Glass's story unfolds in Guthrie's concise, rapid-fire, twisty, terrifying, unpredictable and often humorous manner. Guthrie has his own style of humor. One mode is total farce; for example, Glass's first attempt to be a hero finds him inadvertently running into the filming of a porn scene. Then there's the gross humor. In another Guthrie book a character chops off two of a guy's fingers and rams them up . . . never mind . . . and throws him out into the street. What kind of mind thinks this up! But then the reader sees that there is a dark, hysterical humor to the disgusting scene.

There are scenes like that in Slammer--so be on the lookout. One involves a huge amount of excrement. And there's a finger-chopping sequence of events in Slammer also. Just as I'm feeling disgusted and about to shudder at such scenes, I realize that Guthrie has once again played a terrifyingly funny trick on me.

Mind-Tricks  Speaking of Guthrie's skill at mind-tricks, his third-person narration of Slammer comes from deep inside the mind of Glass; so when Glass is confused or deluded, so is the reader. When Glass comes to a shocking realization, so does the reader.

And I will tell you one thing: Glass's mind does begin to unravel, carrying the reader on a bizarre psychological journey amid the fast-paced, unpredictable action--including a hostage-taking and an attempted prison break. That combination of mental unravelling and gripping action is what makes Slammer a true psychological thriller.

Vintage Guthrie Slammer, like other Guthrie books, may not be for everyone. Readers who look for finely-crafted Chandler-esque prose should search elsewhere. Ditto for those who don't enjoy farce and gross humor. But for Guthrie fans and newcomers, Slammer takes readers on a blood-and-excrement-splattered, 100-mile-per-hour frightening, farcical joyride down a dark, dark highway.That's vintage Guthrie. It's the addition of the deep psychological element that makes Slammer perhaps Guthrie's best thriller yet.

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Spillane, Southland, NoirCon  That's it for this posting. Lots coming up in the near future, including a series of Mickey Spillane posts late winter or early spring.

Try to catch the next episode of Southland on Tuesday, 1/19/10 at 10PM ET/PT. Let me know what you think. Before the all-new episodes begin on Tuesday 3/2/10 at 10PM ET/PT, I should be receiving screeners and will be able to provide advance reviews.

And don't forget about NoirCon 2010 in Philadelphia, Nov. 4-7. NoirCon is a forum where all those who appreciate noir come together to debate, plot, boast, or simply party. It is a four-day journey into that abyss known as Philadelphia, the birthplace of David Goodis. NoirCon offers everyone involved an opportunity to have a great time looking into the bottomless, downward void that is noir! Guests will include George Pelecanos, Johnny Temple, and Charles Benoit.

Take care,

ML

 

  

 
 
 

 

 




 
 

 

Comments

[Dana King]

SLAMMER was my introduction to Guthrie. Took me a bit to get with the program, but by the end I was hooked and carried it around in my head for days thinking of the impressions it made on me. Still do, from time to time.

[Mike Lipkin]

Dana,
Thanks for your comment. Always great to hear from you.
One of my next assignments-to-self is to catch up on your blog and put it on my new "Links" page.
Take care,
ML

[Chris Wood]

Slammer sounds like another one I'll be happy to check out. I must congratulate you on the way you break the book down in to various different elements - it makes it far easier to assess whether or not I'll like it. Slammer sounds like one I'll appreciate.

Glad to hear Mickey Spillane's on the way - can't beat a bit of Mike Hammer.