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The Postman Always Rings Twice

by James M. Cain

3.81 · Rating Details · 22,996 Ratings · 1,541 Reviews

Cain's first novel - the subject of an obscenity trial in Boston and the inspiration for Camus's The Stranger - is the fever-pitched tale of a drifter who stumbles into a job, into an erotic obsession, and into a murder.

Hardcover, 116 pages

Published September 9th 2010 by Orion (first published 1934)

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Community Reviews

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Jul 02, 2008 Kemper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery, noir, classic-lit, 2012-reread

Talk about false advertising. I read this thinking it was a manual for postal employees that I could use to study for civil service exam. But it was just a story about some guy who starts sleeping with another man’s wife and then they decide to kill the husband. It was a pretty good book, but I flunked the test when there weren’t any questions about plotting a homicide. Oh, and that Kevin Costner movie didn’t help either.

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Jul 03, 2015 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: book-to-film

”Stealing a man’s wife, that’s nothing, but stealing his car, that’s larceny.”

John Garfield and Lana Turner in the 1946 movie.

Frank Chambers is a drifter, a man who, when life gets too heavy, catches the next boxcar out of town or puts his thumb out on the nearest highway. Being comfortable or achieving normalcy comes with too much responsibility. He’d rather bum it than have anyone relying on him.

It all begins with a sandwich in a California diner on a road in the middle of nearly nowhere. Ni ...more

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Jun 10, 2017 Brina rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller, classics, novella

James M Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice is a fun, racy hard boiled crime noir classic. First published in 1934 and banned in many places for its provocative scenes, the novella is a fun read full of memorable scenes. Albert Camus used this story as his basis for The Stranger, propelling Cain into the limelight. Later, Cain wrote Double Indemnity, cementing his place as a successful noir writer. Yet, it is for Postman that he is best remembered.

Frank Chambers is a con artist and a bum who James M Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice is a fun, racy hard boiled crime noir classic. First published in 1934 and banned in many places for its provocative scenes, the novella is a fun read full of memorable scenes. Albert Camus used this story as his basis for The Stranger, propelling Cain into the limelight. Later, Cain wrote Double Indemnity, cementing his place as a successful noir writer. Yet, it is for Postman that he is best remembered.

Frank Chambers is a con artist and a bum who is unable to remain in the same city long enough to settle down. His wanderings have gotten him into trouble with the law at many of his stops and finally he is looking to start anew, or so he has us believe. Outside of Los Angeles, he stops at Nick Papadakis' roadside restaurant, and enjoys it so much, that Papadakis offers him a job. The real reason Chambers desires employment: Papadakis' lusty wife Cora, who Chambers is determined to have for himself.

It turns out that Cora is as much of a scamp as Frank is. The two were meant for each other and they develop one crazy scam after another in an attempt to get Nick out of the picture. Papadakis is a hard working Greek immigrant who is determined to achieve the American dream. Even his roadside stop is a melding of Greek and American culture, and one feels sorry for him in his role in this story. Yet, Nick's plight matters little to Frank and Cora as they work hard to get him out of the picture and cash in on his success. The novella reads fast to see where these hare brained schemes lead the couple.

The protagonists end up in and out of trouble with the police as they work to get both Nick out of the way and the cops off their tale. In the interim there are many steamy bedroom scenes for which this novella was originally banned. Between the bedroom moments and run ins with the cops, Cain has created a memorable story that will remain as a classic in noir literature. It was a fast, fun read for an afternoon, and a solid 4 stars. ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Jason Koivu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction

Don't you love it when something you've heard about for ages turns out to be really good, but in a delightfully different way than expected? ...What do you mean, "no"? Go to hell!

I've been laboring under the misapprehension that this was a play about a killer mail carrier. Maybe that's because I grew up in a time when the phrase "going postal" was coined. (In a sidebar: Isn't it great how the English language is still evolving to incorporate new words and phrases?!) My mother had just recently j ...more

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Nov 01, 2016 Carol rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, saw-the-movie, read-2016, crime-noir

4+ Stars ANOTHER good one by Cain......ANOTHER surprise ending......

I vaguely remember the movie with Nicholson and Lange as being hot and steamy, but the words "we did plenty" is about as hot and steamy as it gets here in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE.

Cain sure could write hard-boiled crime though, and crime is what you get plenty of in this 1934 classic!

Zoomed right through it!

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Feb 07, 2012 Trudi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, made-into-movie, crime-mystery, love-the-title, pulpy-goodness, 2012, heart-of-darkness, noir-is-the-new-black

Stealing a man's wife, that's nothing, but stealing his car, that's larceny. ~The Postman Always Rings Twice

If Noir can be said to have a cold, black heart it’s Postman that provided the juice to electroshock it into a beating, breathing existence. It is without a doubt one of the most important crime novels of the 20th century (of any century really) and has gone on to influence entire generations of writers and filmmakers. As a debut, it shocked, titillated and disgusted, banned upon publication in Boston and in Canada. Before I even knew anything about this book, or the films that were based on it, I adored that title. To this day, it remains one of my favourites.

What Cain accomplishes in just a mere 100 pages is impressive. He finds the voice of the common man, and the dark and dangerous shortcut to greed, lust, and violence. More than anything, Cain understands how easily man is corrupted, how easily he can corrupt others, like an infection. And I use “man” here in the generic sense encompassing both genders, because when it comes to villains and black hearts, Cain is an equal opportunist.

Entire books and dissertations have been written about Cain’s women – the good, the bad, the rampant sexism, the alleged misogyny – whatever. Cain’s characters don’t bleed political correctness that's obvious – what they are is a symbol of their time and circumstances – hewed from harshness, beacons of egocentrism, proprietors of antisocialism. The women like to be smacked around a little (it helps get them in the mood), and the men are only too willing to oblige the ladies in that regard. Men aren't asking for what ought to be freely given, and should it be denied to them, why... they'll just take it anyway, won't they?

Based on all of this, Postman easily garners five stars, so why am I only giving it four? My only hesitation stems from this: I just didn’t enjoy it as much as Double Indemnity. Neither Frank nor Cora drew me in to quite the same extent that Walter and Phyllis did – the former are cold, dislikable and a bit icky, whereas the latter duo are fascinating in their terribleness and villainy. They are even sympathetic in their own messed up way … whereas Frank and Cora felt like reptiles crawling on their bellies, sniffing for a blood meal. Plus, Phyllis is simply an awe-inspiring, terrifying creation – a walking, talking sociopath before the term was even widely known. She is quiet, sexy, subtle and deranged -- I love her.

Having said that, Postman is lean and mean hard-boiled pulp fiction and you gotta respect that. It’s not shy about going for the jugular with absolutely no foreplay. But Cain doesn’t need it, requiring so little time and so few words to get the reader foaming at the mouth -- when he’s ready to go, so are you. This is a must-read, but you know that already.
...more

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Jan 22, 2012 David rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Adjust your expectations because there are neither postmen nor ringings (of any frequency) in this novel. Even though I didn't much care for the 1946 Lana Turner-John Garfield film adaptation, I decided to read this because the new cover was visually appealing. Score one for judging a book by its cover! Suck it, wise saying! This nasty little noir features rotten people doing rotten things, like hatching murder plots, trapping pumas in the jungles of Nicaragua, and opening beer gardens. Cora is ...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Richard rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, noir-pulp-classics, essential-crime, cool-titles, essential-noir, great-endings

"Tomorrow night, if I come back, there'll be kisses. Lovely ones, Frank. Not drunken kisses. Kisses with dreams in them. Kisses that come from life, not death."

With the one-two punch publication of both this novel and the serialized version of Double Indemnity in the mid-1930's, James M. Cain truly popularized what we know of now as being the hard-boiled sub-genre of roman noir in American fiction, a long time before the term was even coined. Since it's publication, this book has spawned so many copycats, and inspired so many writers and an entire genre of movies that it's story of a man falling for a femme fatale, their descent into crime, and their eventual doom is kind of a cliché at this point. But even to this day, over 80 years later, very few have been able to match the intensity of both this and Indemnity.

Except for the shape, she really wasn't any raving beauty, but she had a sulky look to her, and her lips stuck out in a way that made me want to mash them in for her.

I initially thought that this was better than Indemnity but now on my second reading, I saw that while it's still great, and still has a stellar, superior ending, Postman pales a bit in comparison. But it's still stronger and tighter than many books in its genre and beyond. It's a little over 100 pages of high tragedy as we witness these two emotionally weak but determined characters dig themselves deeper into a hole of self-destruction and form a bond started by love and transformed into hate, a bond that they realize will never be broken, no matter how much they want out. Can anyone else think of any flawed couples like this in recent bestselling fiction? Of course you can. Yep, and it all started with The Postman Always Rings Twice.

I ripped all her clothes off. She twisted and turned, slow, so they would slip out from under her. Then she closed her eyes and lay back on the pillow. Her hair was falling over her shoulders in snaky curls. Her eye was all black, and her breasts weren’t drawn up and pointing up at me, but soft, and spread out in two big pink splotches. She looked like the great grandmother of every whore in the world. The devil got his money’s worth that night.

...more

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Nov 29, 2015 Fabian rated it really liked it

An astounding achievement of 20th century feminism... Psych! It's just the opposite of that...

Taut, tense, and with a lightning-speed pace, this is a seminal work by Cain. Its also a bit elementary, less wordy than the similar noir "The Butterfly" though not as epic (or precious, or memorable) as "Mildred Pierce."

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Jun 04, 2011 Lou rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-thriller, adapted-to-screen, june-read, noir

The actions of people in the pursuit of love and happiness are sometimes unplanned spontaneous and dangerous. In this story a man comes to town and becomes involved with a married woman. They plan and plot her way out of the marriage, options on the table they want things to be clean. They have a plan, how will it unfold? Will they walk away in each other arms in happiness?

One thing for sure is there will be blood.
Well if your familiar with the authors writing and read his novel Double Indemnit The actions of people in the pursuit of love and happiness are sometimes unplanned spontaneous and dangerous. In this story a man comes to town and becomes involved with a married woman. They plan and plot her way out of the marriage, options on the table they want things to be clean. They have a plan, how will it unfold? Will they walk away in each other arms in happiness?

One thing for sure is there will be blood.
Well if your familiar with the authors writing and read his novel Double Indemnity you will know that his story becomes intricate and a web that his characters must free themselves from. This was another enjoyable tale of individuals and the macabre.

I found this info on the title of the novel on good old Wikipedia..

The title is something of a non sequitur in that nowhere in the novel does a postman appear, nor is one even alluded to. The title's meaning has therefore often been the subject of speculation. William Marling, for instance, suggested that Cain may have taken the title from the sensational 1927 case of Ruth Snyder. Snyder was a woman who, like Cora in Postman, had conspired with her lover to murder her husband. It is recognized that Cain used the Snyder case as an inspiration for his 1943 novel Double Indemnity; Marling believes it was also a model for the plot and the title of Postman. In the real-life case, Snyder said she had prevented her husband from discovering the changes she had made to his life insurance policy by telling the postman to deliver the policy's payment notices only to her, and instructing him to ring the doorbell twice as a signal indicating he had such a delivery for her.
In the preface to Double Indemnity, however, Cain gave a specific, and entirely different, explanation of the origin the title for The Postman Always Rings Twice, writing that it came from a discussion he had had with screenwriter Vincent Lawrence. According to Cain, Lawrence spoke of the anxiety he felt when waiting for the postman to bring him news on a submitted manuscript—specifically noting that he would know when the postman had finally arrived because he always rang twice. Cain then lit upon that phrase as a title for his novel. Upon discussing it further, the two men agreed such a phrase was metaphorically suited to Frank's situation at the end of the novel.
With the "postman" being God, or Fate, the "delivery" meant for Frank was his own death as just retribution for murdering Nick. Frank had missed the first "ring" when he initially got away with that killing. However, the postman rang again, and this time the ring was heard: Frank is wrongly convicted of having murdered Cora, and then sentenced to die. The theme of an inescapable fate is further underscored by the Greek's escape from death in the lovers' first murder attempt, only to be done in by their second one.
In his biography of Cain, Roy Hoopes recounts the conversation between Cain and Lawrence, only he extends Lawrence's remarks. He did not merely say that the postman always rang twice, but rather that he was sometimes so anxious waiting for the postman that he would go into his backyard to avoid hearing his ring. It was no good, however, for if the postman's first ring was not noticed, his second one, even from the backyard, would be.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Feb 02, 2016 Lyn rated it liked it

Desensitized.

I think that’s why James M. Cain’s important 1934 crime novella is not more relevant today. After decades of infidelity and violence, the shocking events Cain describes are just not as disturbing now as they were in the 30s. When this came out there were charges of obscenity and the book was banned in some locations. These days, flip a few channels on TV and you’ll see worse. Hell, kids are playing games where there are more sexuality and violence.

But back in the day, this was edgy ...more

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Mar 30, 2015 Duane rated it really liked it

Shelves: rated-books, reviewed-books, american-classics, mystery-crime, guardian-1000, 2016-book-challenge

In this 1934 classic of the crime noir genre, James Cain creates the crime couple of Frank and Cora, who in a few vivid scenes are seared into literary infamy. Even by today's standards the graphic portrayals of sex and violence combined will make you squirm. You don't have to be a fan of the genre to enjoy this novel. Relatively short, the writing is exceptional, making it a pleasure to read. 4.5 stars.

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Sep 26, 2011 Tfitoby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: black-as-night, hrf-keating-100

Edit: It seems I quite overlooked the fact that this book was part of my HRF Keating challenge and as such requires an extra paragraph to discuss the selection by the famous critic/author. "From out of nowhere, in 1934, a journalist-turned-writer produced a kind of masterpiece...placing him at once in the front rank of American storytellers but also adding an equal mastery of place...a story about justice imposed implacably by the ironies of chance." and who really can argue with that or its sel ...more

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Oct 11, 2016 Jon(athan) Nakapalau rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, classics, crime

When desire is caged it often lashes out...this story illustrates the violence that can be caged in the human heart for years - trapping any hope of happiness even when set free.

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Mar 10, 2015 KamRun rated it really liked it · review of another edition

می گویند پستچی همیشه دو بار زنگ می زند. پستچی هر که هست، چه خدا باشد، چه تقدیر و چه شانس، دو بار حق اشتباه داری، دوبار می شود پای آدم بلغزد، دو بار جان سالم به در می بری و باز به تو فرصت می دهند، اما بار سومی در کار نخواهد بود. پستچی می رود، روی برمی گرداند، هر چه هست، در همان دو بار باید یادشان بگیری، به خودت بیایی و بعد منتظر انتقام سخت پستچی می مانی

دیالوگی از فیلم پستچی همیشه دوبار زنگ می زند

داستانی جنایی/درام که با زبان عامینه توسط قاتل به صورت اول شخص روایت می شود.داستان ریتمی تند و ضربانی

می گویند پستچی همیشه دو بار زنگ می زند. پستچی هر که هست، چه خدا باشد، چه تقدیر و چه شانس، دو بار حق اشتباه داری، دوبار می شود پای آدم بلغزد، دو بار جان سالم به در می بری و باز به تو فرصت می دهند، اما بار سومی در کار نخواهد بود. پستچی می رود، روی برمی گرداند، هر چه هست، در همان دو بار باید یادشان بگیری، به خودت بیایی و بعد منتظر انتقام سخت پستچی می مانی

دیالوگی از فیلم پستچی همیشه دوبار زنگ می زند

داستانی جنایی/درام که با زبان عامینه توسط قاتل به صورت اول شخص روایت می شود.داستان ریتمی تند و ضربانی دارد و بارها خواننده را غافلگیر می کند.داستان در ژانر پلیسی سیاه - نوآر(شاخه سینما)- نوشته شده و بیشتر حول جایگاه قتل،شخصیت قاتل و افکار،احساسات و آرزوهای وی و همدستش کورا(همسر مقتول) می چرخد. با اقتباس از این اثر،فیلمی به کارگردانی باب رافلسون ( سال 1981 محصول مشترک آمریکا و آلمان غربی ) و درخشش جک نیکلسون در نقش فرانک (قاتل) و فیلمی دیگر به کارگردانی تی گرنت (سال 1946 - محصول آمریکا) ساخته شده است.در نگاه اول عنوان کتاب ارتباطی با متن داستان ندارد،با این وجود نوینسده در انتخاب عنوان ظرافت خاصی به خرج داده است.بر اساس حدس و گمان گفته می شود پرونده حقیقی جنایی روث اسنایدر(1927) الهام بخش کین در انتخاب نام داستان بوده است.در آن پرونده نیز زنی با همدستی معشوقه اش اقدام به قتل شوهر خود و دریافت غرامت بیمه می کند.اسنایدر برای جلوگیری از لو رفتن ماجرای بیمه،به پستچی گفته بود تا هنگام رساندن بیمه نامه به منزلش،دوبار زنگ زده تا اسنایدر متوجه علامت شده و خود شخصا آن را دریافت نماید.علاوه بر این،عنوان "پستچی همیشه دوبار زنگ می زند" اشاره به این مضوع دارد که در نهایت عدالت به روش خویش مجرم را جزا می دهد (ممکن است بار اول صدای زنگ نامه رسان شنیده نشود،اما مطمئنا پستچی برای بار دوم زنگ خواهد زد و این بار همه صدای آن را خواهند شنید).در این داستان نیز بار اول حقیقت از محضر دادگاه مخفی می ماند.اما بار دوم فرانک به خاطر جرم قتل ناکرده ی دیگری در تنگنا افتاده و این بار حقیقت ماجرا روشن می شود.همچنین می توان عنوان را به صورت دیگری نیز تحلیل کرد.فرانک دوبار اقدام به قتل مرد یونانی(نیک) می کند و هر دوبار به نحوی از ماجرا جان سالم به در می برد.با این حال بار سوم دیگر راه فراری برای نیک نیست( هم معنی با این ضرب المثل فارسی که "یك بار جستی ملخک، دو بار جستی ملخک ، آخر به دستی ملخک"). جذابیت ذاتی داستان، نحوه روایت، فصل های کوتاه(16 فصل) و ترجمه روان آن؛کتاب را به اثری استثنایی در این ژانر بدل کرده است

تصویر اعدام روث اسنایدر

این عکس اعدام روث اسنایدر را در ۱۲ ژانویه سال ۱۹۲۸ نشان می‌دهد.این تصویر، نخستین عکسی می باشد که از صحنه یک اعدام با صندلی الکتریکی گرفته شده است. تصویر به علت تکان های ناشی از عبور جریان الکتریسیته از اسنایدر تا حدودی تار است.عکسبردای مخفیانه و غیرقانونی توسط تام هووارد و به سفارش نشریه نیویورک دیلی نیوز صورت گرفته است

توضیحات بیشتر در ارتباط با کتاب و نحوه انتخاب عنوان آن
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Nov 18, 2013 Carmen rated it did not like it

Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: fiction, classics, traditionally-published, he-says

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was not what I expected at all. A hobo walks into a diner and the diner owner, a Greek named Nick wants to hire him. The hobo would never agree except he learns the Greek has a really hot wife. He hits on her. Initially she resists, but then she gives in and they start an affair. Frank quickly learns that Cora hates her husband and finds him disgusting. She soon plants the idea in his mind that they should kill him. So they think of this elaborate plot in which she brains him when he's This book was not what I expected at all. A hobo walks into a diner and the diner owner, a Greek named Nick wants to hire him. The hobo would never agree except he learns the Greek has a really hot wife. He hits on her. Initially she resists, but then she gives in and they start an affair. Frank quickly learns that Cora hates her husband and finds him disgusting. She soon plants the idea in his mind that they should kill him. So they think of this elaborate plot in which she brains him when he's in the bath and claims he fell. The cops come at the wrong time and they revive Nick. He recovers in the hospital. He becomes happily fascinated with his accident, and makes a scrapbook about it. He now wants Cora to have his baby. So they try to kill him again, this time in a car accident. They set up witnesses, make sure Nick is drunk, etc. This time it works. Nick dies. Frank punches Cora in the face so that it looks like she got hurt. He gets hurt (broken arm). What they didn't know (or did Cora?) is that Nick had recently taken out a 10K life insurance policy. The police are suspicious. They turn on each other and confess against each other. But they get a great lawyer and he gets them off. Now they should be enjoying the money but they can't trust each other. He wants her to run off with him and live a hobo life, and she wants to keep the restaurant and add a beer garden. When her mom dies, she leaves for a week and he has an affair in Mexico with a big cat trainer. Cora comes back. A guy who is fired from the lawyer's office comes by and tries to blackmail them with their confession that he stole. Frank beats him up repeatedly and brutally and forces him to lure his cohorts there. They burn all the copies. Cora finds out about Frank's affair when the cat trainer stops by his house with a kitten. She is furious. Now Frank wants to kill Cora and Cora wants to turn Frank in. They seethe. But then Cora reveals that she is pregnant. That makes Frank happy. Cora tries to leave – but he stops her and she says she couldn't anyway – she loves him. But he needs a chance to. She insists they go swimming so he can have a chance to drown her if he wants to. But he wants to get married. So they get married and go swimming. She goes out far, but he doesn't leave her – he loves her. She is having a little trouble breathing so they go to shore. He is rushing her to the hospital when he crashes into a tree and she is killed. The police arrest him and put him to death. POINTLESS ...more

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Aug 04, 2015 David Gustafson rated it it was amazing

After my huge disappointment with Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man," I knew I could find the antidote with a re-read of James M. Cain's masterpiece, "The Postman Always Rings Twice." Thin is thin and noir is noir and Cain's first person novella stands out as the noirest of them all.

Since we know the perps from the beginning, this is never a whodunnit, not even a how-did-they-finally-get-caught mystery novel. This is Cain's search among the ruins of lust, betrayal, suspicion, confession, love and
After my huge disappointment with Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man," I knew I could find the antidote with a re-read of James M. Cain's masterpiece, "The Postman Always Rings Twice." Thin is thin and noir is noir and Cain's first person novella stands out as the noirest of them all.

Since we know the perps from the beginning, this is never a whodunnit, not even a how-did-they-finally-get-caught mystery novel. This is Cain's search among the ruins of lust, betrayal, suspicion, confession, love and forgiveness that clutter two human hearts in love with each other before and after they kill another, rather generous human being.

Cain's portraits of Frank the drifter and Cora, the hash house waitress, are as finely etched as any one of Rembrandt's masterpieces that stare back at us from behind those riveting eyes, waiting to have a word with us after all these centuries.

Cain's story was inspired by the real-life murderers Ruth Snyder and her married lover, Judd Gray. They knocked off her husband Albert for his insurance money providing some bonus material that Cain would also use again in "Double Indemnity."

Mrs. Snyder's trial captivated the entire country. Gray testified that it took her seven attempts before she finally succeeded in killing Albert. Apparently, Albert was not a very suspicious sort of victim.

With all of the coast-to-coast publicity, Ruth Snyder would receive over a hundred marriage proposals before her execution in the electric chair that was stealthily captured by a New York Daily News photographer just as the current surged through her body. Her face had been masked to shield the finer people in attendance from any queasy, eye-popping memories. Front page stuff! The raw stuff that noir is made of! Adultery, money, murder and execution.

By the time "The Postman Always Rings Twice" was published, the American audience was properly primed and ready to shell out a little dough for this short read. Ruth Snyder's quivering body was still twitching in their minds and ever since its publication, this has been ranked at the top of the the noir totem pole. Rightly so. This is underclass literature at its finest rather than ordinary crime fiction.

I have seen both movies and much prefer the John Garfield version to the Jack Nicholson one. I hold the minority opinion that Nicholson, like John Wayne, is a one- dimensional actor basically playing himself in all of his roles. Nicholson's performance as Frank pales in comparison to Garfield and let us be honest here, Jessica Lange " just ain't no Lana Turner" whether she is playing Cora or anyone else.

Enjoy this masterpiece and then watch the 1946 movie.
...more

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Mar 04, 2014 Brandon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, noir, ebook, 2014

James M. Cain’s The Postman Always Rings Twice is a structurally sound tent pole of the noir genre. While it inspired an entire generation of crime writers, you’ll be shocked to know that it was met with a fair share of criticism when initially published. Due to a high volume of violence and sexuality (for its time), the book was shunned by critics and even so far as banned in Boston. Despite best efforts to keep the novel out of the hands and minds of American readers, the book’s originality an ...more

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Apr 29, 2015 Barry Pierce rated it liked it

Shelves: 20th-century, read-in-2015

A hard-boiled noir that inspired Camus, The Postman Always Rings Twice is never boring because the plot moves so fast that you barely have time to register what happens. This fully developed narrative is compressed into 84-pages in my edition and feels more fully rounded and memorable than many full length novels. Tragic and bloody, this story has an ending that will leave you shaken and you'll have a damned hard time trying to forget it.

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Jan 01, 2010 Lawyer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Lawyer by: Goodreads Group Pulp Fiction

Shelves: crime, 20th-century, modern-library-s-100, noir

The Great Depression produced a remarkable cultural history. In 1934, the following books made their appearance: "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" by James Hilton, "Tender is the Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The Thin Man" by Dashiell Hammett, "Murder in Three Acts" by Agatha Christie, and "The Postman Always Rings Twice" by James M. Cain. However, it was Cain and Hammett that tapped into the mean underbelly of the times. Read any of the remaining three and you'd be hard-pressed to believe that the world's ...more

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Mar 05, 2015 Paul Nelson rated it really liked it

Shelves: crime-thrillers, 2015-books-read

The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic crime tale from James M. Cain and to be honest you just can't read this without Jack Nicholson being prominent in your thoughts.

Luck is on Frank Chambers side when he gets dumped in southern California with no car and no cash, doesn't sound too lucky admittedly but using his devilish charm he lands a job working at a small truck stop for Nick Papadakis. Then comes Nicks beautiful wife Cora and fervent lust bursts to the fore, and when Nick goes away on ...more

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May 12, 2014 Kaloyana rated it it was amazing

Уау! Нито то можеш да оставиш тази история, нито тя тебе оставя. И не само, че не те оставя, но ти вкарва толкова мисли в главата, че направо се объркваш. Кое по-напред да прецениш и за кое по-напред да помислиш. Малка книга, която е побрала гигантска история. Първо да кажа, че е написана толкова перфектно, че недоумявам как изобщо е възможно да си толкова точен с фактите и случките. Бездънна прецизност от страна на автора, чудесно познаване на законите. И логическо мислене, от което ти става ча Уау! Нито то можеш да оставиш тази история, нито тя тебе оставя. И не само, че не те оставя, но ти вкарва толкова мисли в главата, че направо се объркваш. Кое по-напред да прецениш и за кое по-напред да помислиш. Малка книга, която е побрала гигантска история. Първо да кажа, че е написана толкова перфектно, че недоумявам как изобщо е възможно да си толкова точен с фактите и случките. Бездънна прецизност от страна на автора, чудесно познаване на законите. И логическо мислене, от което ти става чак зле.

Ето няколко от нещата, които аз възпроизведох като заключения:

1. Ако някой е боклук, той е боклук до края.
2. Ако някой боклук има гузна съвест, то тя не го спира да бъде боклук.
3. Ако някой боклук има известна доброта в сърцето си, въпреки това остава боклук.
4. Ако в някой се е вселил Дяволът, то той си работи за себе си до края.
5. Ако някой е скитник, той ще скита винаги.
6. Ако е егоист, ще бъде такъв до край.
7. Ако един боклук се влюби и обича, той пак прави зверства и наранява.
8. Любовта не спасява никого от злата му природа.
9. Лошотията избива над всичко.
10.Ако нещата се объркат, но после се оправят, то със сигурност ще се объркат пак.
11.Ако на едно нещо му е писано - ще стане. И обратното.
12.Има едно зло, с ужасно силна притегателна сила, което като с невидима нишка обединява двама души и добрите им намерения и не им позволява да се разделят и всичко да спре.

- Снощи много мислих. За теб и за мен, за опита ми да вляза в киното и защо се издъних. И за кръчмата, и за пътя, и защо обичаш да си все на път. Ние с теб сме пълни боклуци, Франк! Но Господ ни целуна по челата онази нощ. Господ ни даде всичко, което двама души могат да имат. А ние просто не го заслужавахме. Имахме цялата любов, но се огънахме под тежестта й. Това е като огромен самолетен двигател, който може да те издигне във въздуха и да те отнесе на върха, но ако го монтираш на стар Форд, ще го пръсне на парчета. Ей това сме ние, Франк. Два форда. И Господ седи там горе сега и ни се смее.
- Да, бе, смее се! А не му ли се смеем и ние? Той ни сложи огромен знак "Стоп", а ние не спряхме.... Така че да, Господ ни целуна по челата, но после дяволът си легна с нас. А него много го бива в кревата.

Не сме читава работа хората, това е. ...more

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Jun 29, 2017 Betsy Robinson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Wowee kazowee was this good. And the reason I'm so surprised is that I started out laughing at the campiness of it: boy meets girl; they violently canoodle … and then some; boy and girl kill girl's guy; etc. The abrupt transitions and 1930s lingo were funny!

But then something even funnier happened: I couldn't stop reading.

The unattributed cover blurb on my tattered 1935 Knopf Borzoi paperback says:

"If you once begin it you will finish it; and you won't forget it. It is one of the toughest, roug

...more

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Mar 31, 2016 صان rated it liked it · review of another edition

داستان خوب بود. غافلگیری های خوبی داشت. خوب پیچونده بود شخصیت هارو به هم و جالب تموم شد. اما من زیاد خوشم نیومد. نمیدونم داستان چی باید داشته باشه تا خوشم بیاد ولی اون چیز هرچی هست، نداشت. اما کار قوی ای بود به نظر من. سه ستاره فقد برا اینه که به سلیقه من خوش نیومد. البته بعضی جاها نمیفهمیدم چه دیالوگیرو کی داره میگه و یخورده پیچ میخورد که چه اتفاقی افتاده و یهو انگار یه صحنه ای پریده میشد، ولی جز اون، بقیه چیزاش خوب بود. مخصوصن اخر داستان که هی ورق برمیگشت.
درکل، توصیه میکنم!
ولی حس خیلی محشری نس ...more

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Mar 05, 2011 Kinga rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Some time ago I read an interview with James M. Cain in Paris Review Interviews. I had no idea who he was but of course I had heard of ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’. There was a book, there were films. I knew all about it. Here is the storyline as I saw it: it’s some sort of erotic crime thing. A woman lives alone, a guy comes to the door, says he is a postman, she lets him in, he rapes her and kills her but it’s all very ambiguous actually. Anyway, she should’ve known he wasn’t a postman bec Some time ago I read an interview with James M. Cain in Paris Review Interviews. I had no idea who he was but of course I had heard of ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’. There was a book, there were films. I knew all about it. Here is the storyline as I saw it: it’s some sort of erotic crime thing. A woman lives alone, a guy comes to the door, says he is a postman, she lets him in, he rapes her and kills her but it’s all very ambiguous actually. Anyway, she should’ve known he wasn’t a postman because the postman always rings twice and this guy only rung once, get it?

Yeah. It turns out there aren’t any postmen in this book and nobody rings (twice or otherwise). And while I believe my version is pretty good, Cain’s might be a little better. To cut a short story even shorter, it’s a tale about love, sex and murder. And different feline species. We have a cat which gets electrocuted, we have wild pumas and we have Cora, the self-proclaimed hellcat.

Frank Chambers was just passing by because that was what he did in life – pass by. He would go on with his life of a rolling stone, get arrested every now and then, maybe get an odd job here and there, if it weren’t for Cora, the wife of a Greek owner of a diner in the middle of nowhere. More sophisticated men wouldn’t look at her twice, but to men like Frank Chambers Cora is the sort of woman you’d kill for. You know, the fire of his loins and the cause of his downfall.

Cain knows how to write a story without resorting to flowery descriptions or linguistic acrobatics. His writing is sparse and of no-frills kind but it’s hypnotically rhythmic. It’s a shame that creative writing courses discourage people from writing like that anymore. Many contemporary writers would probably drown this story in all the unnecessary thus robbing it of its emotional immediacy.

By the way, if you like I can happily tell you the storyline of any other book I haven’t read, like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ or ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ or ‘The Sound and the Fury’ or ‘The Blind Assassin’. I have them all figured out.
...more

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Jan 09, 2008 Becca Becca rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-college

Good for lessons on how to be a femme fatale.

Lesson one: Say things like, "I don't especially like the way I look sometimes. But I never met a man since I was fourteen that didn't want to give me an argument about it."

Lesson two: Think up an elaborate murder plan

Lesson three: Wear high-heels, red lipstick, and chain smoke while employing bedroom eyes.

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Nov 04, 2013 Cathy DuPont rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ok...after just getting off my train wreck (for me) of Cain's Serenade, I was gloriously happy to pick up Matthew Hope's (Ed McBain) next in the series, Cinderella.

I had read about 15 pages and just picked up The Postman Always Rings Twice which I got when I got Serenade. It was right there, on my bed in my TBR next pile...got two piles now, one on bed, one on shelf. I just picked it up and read the first couple of paragraphs and put it down to pick up Matthew Hope and continue reading.

Well, f ...more

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Feb 05, 2010 Tatiana rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, 1001, 2010

Another book that I was introduced to by 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. My first venture into the genre of American crime noir, and a successful one.

This short (only about 100 pages) novel is narrated by Frank Chambers - a homeless bum, a morally deficient good-for-nothing fellow who gets by by hitch-hiking, gambling and turning shady deals. One day he comes across a roadside diner/gas station and is quickly hired by its owner - a Greek entrepreneur Nick. The only reason Frank st ...more

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Jan 06, 2015 Alex rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: people who are inclined to get tattoos of other peoples' names

Shelves: 2015, noir

"I sunk my teeth into her lips so deep I could feel the blood spurt into my mouth."

Oh, noir. Such a shitty kisser.

At just over 100 pages, this is a night's work, and it hits all the buttons beautifully. Murder, passion, weird sex, purpleness...it's all here. "I hauled off and hit her in the eye as hard as I could," says our hero; "She went down. She was right down there at my feet, her eyes shining, her breasts trembling." Whee!

Camus called this 1934 novella an influence on The Stranger, which ...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Book Concierge rated it it was amazing

Shelves: concierge, library, movie, classic, crime, murder

When Cain published this work in 1934 he opened up a new field for writers, and defined a new subgenre .. the hard-boiled noir crime novel.

Frank Chambers is a drifter, who gets tossed off a truck on which he had stowed away, and winds up at the Twin Oaks Tavern. It’s a dusty little “roadside sandwich joint, like a million others in California” including a lunch counter, filling station, and a half-dozen “shacks that they called an auto court.” The owner, a Greek named Nick Papadakis, offers him ...more

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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 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 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.

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