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The Five Great Novels Of James M. Cain.

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 18 ratings · 1 review

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Serenade
Mildred Pearce
Double Indemnity
The Butterfly

James M. Cain is the third member of the trio who had such enormous influence, not only on the writing of detective fiction, on film and the way America was viewed. Like Chandler and Hammett, Cain wrote about crime, but unlike them he wrote from teh point of view of the criminal and with a sen...more

Paperback, Picador, 633 pages

Published December 6th 1985 by Picador

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Jan 15, 2011 Ian Robinson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Although several of these books became classic film noirs, they are set more in the 1930s than the post-war 1940s and cold war of the 50s of classic noir. And the difference is telling. Instead of dark cities, these tales are set in the outskirts, in the small towns or the diners, the ports and hillsides. And the big enemy, the darkness that reaches out and consumes all isn't masculine fear, crime, the hopelessness of being alone in the big city, it is basically all down to one thing: the Great...more Although several of these books became classic film noirs, they are set more in the 1930s than the post-war 1940s and cold war of the 50s of classic noir. And the difference is telling. Instead of dark cities, these tales are set in the outskirts, in the small towns or the diners, the ports and hillsides. And the big enemy, the darkness that reaches out and consumes all isn't masculine fear, crime, the hopelessness of being alone in the big city, it is basically all down to one thing: the Great Depression. Steinbeck wrote of tramps, vagabonds, the homeless and dispossessed in California in the Depression, and there is some cross-over with some characters; I could imagine Frank Chambers in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" crossing paths with Tom Joad. Cain, though, aims for characters his audience are more likely to know and empathize with - home owners, bar workers, out of work musicians, salsemen - in short, themselves. Violence is less prevalent than in classic noir, too; I've always put that turn down to the violence of the second world war, that most (anti)heroes will have returned from (murder is the ultimate aim of "double indemnity", but that is an exception, and Walter's reaction to it is one of distanced disbelief). These are more "domestic" struggles, of trying to survive in a world that didn't particularly care. Morality is shaded not by violence but by passion and the follies and failings that passion can make you undertake and endure. Illicit trysts and broken marriages litter these five novels. And, it is worth noting, strong women, personified in "Mildred Pierce", perhaps the strongest, most driven and determined character in US fiction at that point. Her failings, her eventual downfalls, were those of all the characters in this compendium - misplaced love and deceit. Treachery abounds in Cain's families, characters who have married the wrong partner, whose love has died but the house remains around them like a prison. Even offspring aren't safe from this soured Eden, personified by Veda in Mildred Pierce, who I found to be one of the most remorseless and immoral characters I have ever read.
I can't write a review of these five novels without mentioning Cain's clear love and knowledge of music. Several characters are musicians, by profession or calling, and the way such a love, a calling, can dominate a person's life, to the detriment of others.
Overall, I spent several months going back to these stories one at a time, and was utterly enthralled throughout. Highly highly recommend this collection.(less)

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About James M. Cain

James Mallahan Cain was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labelling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the 'roman noir'.
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from h...more

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Books by James M. Cain

The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, Mildred Pierce and Selected Stories

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