The article explores the enduring fascination with literature about scam artists, focusing on works by Charles Portis, Jim Thompson, and William Lindsay Gresham. It highlights the various representations of grifters in these novels, particularly Gresham's "Nightmare Alley," which chronicles the tragic downfall of a con artist involved in a carnival scene. It illustrates the psychological manipulation and moral ambiguity present in these characters' lives, drawing parallels to contemporary society and reminding us of the archetype's deep roots throughout history.
But my favorite is William Lindsay Gresham's Nightmare Alley from 1946. It's a study of a career swindler that begins in a shabby 1930s carnival, where a grotesque posse of illusionists and freaks cheat hard-working Americans out of their nickels and dimes, meanwhile exploiting each other with mind games and power trips.
The protagonist begins as an ambitious magician, later transforming into a spiritualist preacher who earns a following preying upon his congregation's fear and grief, though his life ultimately unravels into Tár-esque degradation before arriving at the most abject end of any book I've read.
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