The Five Great Novels of James M. Cain: The Postman Always Rings Twice / The Butterfly / Serenade / Mildred Pierce / Double Indemnity

by James M. Cain

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 the point of view of the criminal and with a sense of bitter, even savage realism which is entirely his own.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Classics, Noir

633 pages, Paperback

First published December 6, 1985

About the author

James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892–October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hard-boiled 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 his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.

After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.

He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.

Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.

His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.

He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).

He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.

Reviews

[Ian Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Postman Always Rings Twice (4*)
Serenade (5*)
Double Indemnity (4*)
Mildred Pierce (5*)
The Butterfly (3*)

Postman is a fantastic thriller with a classic twist, tautly plotted and neatly characterised.

Serenade was a surprising discovery - if you can get past the casual racial stereotyping and homophobia of the time, that is. A beautiful love story.

Double Indemnity was great, but I preferred the film. I was a little disappointed if I'm honest.

Mildred Pierce was the best of the bunch. Simply the most honest novel I've ever read - you feel and experience everything Mildred does. It is dotted with real characters, not least of which is Mildred's daughter, Veda.

The Butterfly is well written, but very uncomfortable. The main incest storyline is very disturbing.

[Ravanagh Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great noir of the golden age (excepting ‘Mildred Pierce’). I dunno, ‘Serenade’ is probably the best here, a hilariously sacrilegious comedy.

[Andrew F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contains five books:

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE - The best crime book I've ever read, hands down. 100 pages of compelling sleaze, sparsely and seductively written, and probably the best example of Cain's master trick as a storyteller - to invite you into the character's point of view, let the darker parts of your subconscious fill in the gaps of the character's innocuous and sanitised narration, and leave you as a collaborator in their crimes. You've been duped - but you duped yourself and now you have to pay.

SERENADE - A really underrated book, and completely offensive by today's standards. Themes include rape, homosexuality, cultural exploitation and more. Not exactly a crime book, but a real winner regardless.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the writer for fans of film noir. So good.