![]() Slim may have employed the straight-talking “language of the ghetto” to quote Ice T, but the man could write there isn’t a dull sentence to be found. His is a fascinating story - he worked the streets of Chicago for twenty five years before turning his attention to writing. The book was unfortunately misplaced on my way back to Canada, which I’ve always regretted. Iceberg Slim, also known as Robert Beck, was born in Chicago in 1918 and was initiated into the life of the pimp at age 18. I remember reading his autobiography, Pimp, when living in Kiev in the late nineties. This is the gritty truth, the life of a hustler in south side Chicago where the only characters are those who con and those who get conned. Like a Tarantino film its quick moving, funny, and action packed, and crammed full of snappy dialogue. Weaving stories of deceit, sex, humor, and race, bestselling author Iceberg Slim brings us the story of a hustler who doesnt just play the con game, he transforms it. I dont see any reason to view this book as anything other than a final opportunity to tell the world that Iceberg Slim was its most cunning pimp. An illustration of two cells of a film strip. ![]() In fact I would argue that the value money held for him was mostly as a symbol of status. Spoiler alert, by the end there is almost no one left standing. Robert Beck attended Tuskegee Institute in the 1930s but left without receiving a degree he then entered Chicagos criminal subculture and was dubbed Iceberg. Slim tells us openly that he became a pimp not just for money, but for prestige. It’s a book almost entirely based on carnality, the passions and jealousies that it inspires, and the violent consequences that can ensue. Both Joe and Reba’s parents also feature prominently in the story, but only to highlight the sex-madness of these characters crosses generations. Set in post-war LA, it’s a world centred around the love-triangles of Joe Allen, a washed up ex-boxer, Reba, the long-term love interest he longs to possess, and his rivals for her attention, spoilt medical student, Pretty Melvin, and wunderkind preacher, Felix. With its copious amounts of explicit sex and gratuitous violence Doom Fox was a refreshing change of pace from my usual fare.
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