Charles Willeford's Books

Recommended Reading

Three of Charles Willeford’s books to try:

Sideswipe: The darkly funny story of a detective who is trying to have a midlife crisis. Everyday humour and criminal ineptitude. (Review)

The Shark Infested Custard by Charles Willeford

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Shark Infested Custard: The novel was published in the 90s after Willeford’s death. One reviewer described it as “immoral, unethical, but never unpleasant”. (Notes)

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Pick-Up: Published in 1955, the New York Times said, “The tale could be called an emotional roller coaster, except that it has no upswings; it’s sheer free fall.” (Notes)

Image by David Poller

Biography

Charles Willeford had a varied life.

His C.V. included hobo, tank commander, associate professor of English, horse trainer, boxer, actor and radio announcer. It would also have shown that he had been awarded the Purple Heart for heroism during the Battle of the Bulge during World War 2 and that he had been thrown out of the Universitarias de Belles Artes in Lima Peru, for lying on his application form.

His personal life was equally diverse. As a child, he lost both of his parents to tuberculosis, and as an adult, he had three wives and (presumably) two divorces.

Charles Willeford would make us all look dull at a party.

The Inspiration for Pulp Fiction

Willeford’s books are dark, occasionally gruesome and invariably very funny. He had a knack for mixing extreme violence with black humour.

Quentin Tarantino said that the film Pulp Fiction… “is not noir. I don’t do neo-noir. I see Pulp Fiction as closer to modern-day crime fiction, a little closer to Charles Willeford.” Unfortunately, Charles Willeford died in 1988, but I suspect Mr Tarantino’s hat tip did plenty for his posthumous book sales.

Willeford is best known for his Hoke Moseley novels, of which Sideswipe was one, but he also published several thrillers in the 1950s. Of these, the Library of America selected Pick-Up for its American Noir compilation. The last of Willeford’s books – The Shark Infested Custard – was written in the 1970s but only published after his death in the 1990s. The publishers of the 70s found it just a little too grim.

American Noir

The quote that perhaps best describes Willeford’s style comes from his third wife, Betsy Poller:

“Miami was the perfect place for Charles to live. And it was getting more and more interesting. When I see a headline like ‘Dead Bodies in Car Cause Rubbernecking Delay’, I really miss him.” (The Atlantic)

You really should give Mr Willeford a try.