Now and on Earth

Now and On Earth is a 1942 novel by Jim Thompson, it was his first published novel.

Set in San Diego during World War II, it is a semi-autobiographical description of the author's life working in an airplane manufacturing plant during the war years and the frustrations he endured there and in his personal life at the time. The main character is named James Dillon, a pen name under which Thompson had previously published short stories.

Though later heralded as a powerful work of first person narration and working class and migrant class frustration, it received almost no attention at the time of its publication. With Thompson's subsequent popularity for his crime fiction, original editions of Now And On Earth fetch thousands of dollars from collectors. Even dustjackets of the book are known to net hundreds of dollars at auction. Though his later works would be significantly more praised, Now and On Earth is well regarded in the author's body of work.