Pimp (1967) – Iceberg Slim

The "Read On" list for Pasolini is

READ ON Celine, Graham Greene, Iceberg Slim

The authors in bold have entries in Cult Fiction. I had heard of neither of them. By the toss of a coin I chose Iceberg Slim.

According to his biography in Cult Fiction, Iceberg Slim is a seminal influence in black American culture. His assured use of the vernacular and unapologetic honesty in writing about the black underclass from within has inspired many other black artists, notably Ice T who took his name from Iceberg. Seeing how important he is, I was surprised I had never heard of him and was sure that his books would be easy to find.

The "Must Read" for Iceberg Slim are

MUST READ Mama Black Widow, Pimp, Trick Baby

I chose to read Pimp, Iceberg's autobiographical account of his career as a pimp before he became a writer. To find it I went to the library. But I was surprised to learn that they didn't have it. Feeling certain that they ought to have it, I filled in a request form suggesting that the library buy a copy. A couple of weeks later I got a letter from them saying that they didn't think it was worthwhile for the library to buy a copy of this book. Very disappointing.

So I bought myself a copy from Unity to read.

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The cover of Pimp shows just what sort of pimp Iceberg was. The cover has him dressed in a lurid pink shirt with a giant gold-nugget ring. He was clearly more a dandy Huggy Bear-type pimp than Harvey Keitel in Taxi Driver. I can imagine him sashaying down the streets of Chicago in furs and platforms followed by his girls ("Ice, daddy, we love you." "Shut up, I know it!").

But the first chapter of the book dispels the idea that he might be some sort of cartoon pimp out of a blacksploitation comedy. The chapter relates an evening from the height of Iceberg's career, when his control over his whores was at its height, and demonstrates how he kept his girls in order through abuse, bullying, cynical psychology and intimidation. The rest of the book is fairly similar, though more violent at times, as Iceberg describes what it takes to be a super successful pimp with a stable of faithful, profitable whores and a patch of turf defended from rivals. It is a harsh business gaining a rep as a pimp and keeping ahead of the game. It takes a lot of guile, a vicious streak and an endless capacity for brutal misogyny.

For all this it is an incredible book. An endlessly fascinating story and a gripping, raw read that feels original even though it is 40 years old. The most impressive aspect of the book is its verisimilitude. The novel is, naturally enough, completely true to life, for that particular world. The book even includes a four-page glossary so we can follow what the characters are saying. (I made an attempt to speak Jive myself but could only keep it up for a couple of days.) More than this though is the honesty in the writing. It isn't just the setting that seems realistic, Iceberg's account of his life also feels completely genuine. So willing is he to reveal his dark brutal soul from those days that you are convinced he isn't hiding anything from us.

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I felt in Iceberg's writing that there was some kind of remorse for wasting his life as a pimp. He doesn't really say this directly, or at least not very strongly. In fact, he writes about the pimp lifestyle with gusto and offers no apologies. But I get a strong sense of catharsis in his admission to having lived that life.

It is so easy to see Iceberg Slim's influence in blacksploitation and contemporary gangsta culture (and beyond, The Rough Guide to Cult Fiction lists Irvine Welsh as having been influenced by Iceberg). But it is also quite clear that Slim's message has been lost in some parts of the subcultures he helped to create, specifically those parts that aspire to that kind of lifestyle . Slim however didn't write about his life to glorify it, he wrote about it to shame it by exposure.