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The Postman Always Rings Twice / Double Indemnity / Mildred Pierce / Selected Stories
These three classics from the master of the noir novel, along with five otherwise unavailable short stories, are electric with the taut narrative voice, the suspense, and the explosive violence and eroticism that were James M. Cain’s indelible hallmarks.The Postman Always Rings Twice, Cain’s first novel–the subject of an obscenity trial in Boston, 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. Double Indemnity–which followed Postman so quickly, Cain’s readers hardly had a chance to catch their breath–is a tersely narrated story of blind passion, duplicity, and, of course, murder. Mildred Pierce, a work of acute psychological observation and devastating emotional violence, is the tale of a woman with a taste for shiftless men and an unreasoned devotion to her monstrous daughter. All three novels were immortalized in classic Hollywood films. Also included here are five masterful stories–“Pastorale,” “The Baby in the Icebox,” “Dead Man,” “Brush Fire,” “The Girl in the Storm”–that have been out of print for decades.
594 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1934
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About the author
James M. Cain
175 books866 followersJames 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.
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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April 16, 2024
A Pioneer Of American Noir
James M Cain (1892 -1977) is best remembered for a series of novels he wrote while working as a screenwriter in Hollywood during the 1930s, including "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Double Indemnity" and "Mildred Pierce". These novels were highly popular in their day and were made into several classic movies. Sometimes denigrated as "pulp" or even as "trash", these novels offer their own vision of American life and make a substantial contribution to American literature. The three novels, together with five rare Cain short stories, are available at a modest price in this hardback edition from Everyman's Library. The volume also includes an introductory essay on Cain by Robert Polito together with a chronology of Cain's life and work.
The novels are set in the Depression-era 1930s in southern California, including Los Angeles and its environs. There is feeling of place in each of these novels, particularly of cheap seedy businesses, impoverished dwellings, lonely roads and railroad tracks, poolhalls, and chop houses. The novels offer a stark view of human sexuality and lust and a dismal view of human nature as motivated by greed, jealousy, and class envy. Cain portrays a society that is philistine and always on the make. Women tend to be the stronger characters in Cain's novels. They take the initiative with their men, most often by using their sexuality but sometimes through ambition and effort as well. The men tend to be shiftless, unfocused and driven by their passions. Cain's writing is tough, descriptive, colloquial, and short.
The two short novels in this collection, "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Double Indemnity" are stories of murder and violence. Both are told in a confessional style by a male narrator who is about to receive his due for his misdeeds. This style gives the books a strong sense of immediacy. "Postman" is set in suburban Los Angeles among the poor. Its primary character is a 24 year old grifter who becomes involved with the wife of a small owner of a restaurant and plots with her to kill him. The man is referred to by the characters as "The Greek" and their are overtones of prejudice throughout the work. The sexual character of the work was raw and overwhelming in its day, and it remains potent. The illicit affair is described in great detail with strong overtones of masochism on behalf of the woman. The novel details the murder plots, the streets of Los Angeles, and the criminal justice system of the day. It ends with an ironic but fated twist.
"Double Indemnity" also involves a scheme by a woman and her lover to murder the husband. In this case, the motive is more greed -- for the proceeds of an expensive insurance policy -- than lust. The narrator is an insurance salesman who becomes infatuated with the wife of an executive of an oil company. Thus, the story takes place among the middle and upper middle classes rather than among the poor; and, as was "Postman" it is narrated by the primary male character as a confessional before he meets his end. The leading female character in the book is sharply drawn and substantially more evil than her counterpart in "Postman." The book shows a good deal of internal development of its characters and works to a tense ending.
The third novel, "Mildred Pierce" is the longest and probably most substantial of the three. It has the same basic noir setting as the earlier works -- southern California in the 1930, but is much more psychologically probing than its companions. It does not involve a murder, but it shows even more than the shorter novels the darker aspects of human nature and the effects of lust and greed.
Cain's major character, Mildred Pierce, is a strongly and complexly drawn figure. She breaks with her philandering, ne'r do well husband and attempts to raise two young daughters on her own. She plays favorites between her two daughters. When the younger, less favored daughter tragically dies, Mildred redoubles her efforts towards the older girl, who Mildred believes, has great talent as a classical pianist. The girl, Vera, is ungrateful and spiteful from her youth, and much of the book involves the unraveling of the relationship between mother and daughter.
When she leaves her husband, Mildred has no apparent skills beyond the ability to bake pies. Yet Cain portrays her as a character of drive and ambition. Mildred is able to parlay a job she is forced to take as a waitress in a cheap restaurant, where she is groped and ogled, into a career as an entrepreneur. With this success, Mildred's story is ultimately a sad one as a result of her relationship with her daughter and her failed affairs with two unscrupulous and lustful men following her break with her husband. Cain offers a tough yet hard portrayal of a woman in a book which may grow with the reader.
I enjoyed reading these novels by Cain together with the stories which have qualities similar to the novels. This is a valuable book for those readers interested in noir or in American literature.
Robin Friedman
James M Cain (1892 -1977) is best remembered for a series of novels he wrote while working as a screenwriter in Hollywood during the 1930s, including "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Double Indemnity" and "Mildred Pierce". These novels were highly popular in their day and were made into several classic movies. Sometimes denigrated as "pulp" or even as "trash", these novels offer their own vision of American life and make a substantial contribution to American literature. The three novels, together with five rare Cain short stories, are available at a modest price in this hardback edition from Everyman's Library. The volume also includes an introductory essay on Cain by Robert Polito together with a chronology of Cain's life and work.
The novels are set in the Depression-era 1930s in southern California, including Los Angeles and its environs. There is feeling of place in each of these novels, particularly of cheap seedy businesses, impoverished dwellings, lonely roads and railroad tracks, poolhalls, and chop houses. The novels offer a stark view of human sexuality and lust and a dismal view of human nature as motivated by greed, jealousy, and class envy. Cain portrays a society that is philistine and always on the make. Women tend to be the stronger characters in Cain's novels. They take the initiative with their men, most often by using their sexuality but sometimes through ambition and effort as well. The men tend to be shiftless, unfocused and driven by their passions. Cain's writing is tough, descriptive, colloquial, and short.
The two short novels in this collection, "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Double Indemnity" are stories of murder and violence. Both are told in a confessional style by a male narrator who is about to receive his due for his misdeeds. This style gives the books a strong sense of immediacy. "Postman" is set in suburban Los Angeles among the poor. Its primary character is a 24 year old grifter who becomes involved with the wife of a small owner of a restaurant and plots with her to kill him. The man is referred to by the characters as "The Greek" and their are overtones of prejudice throughout the work. The sexual character of the work was raw and overwhelming in its day, and it remains potent. The illicit affair is described in great detail with strong overtones of masochism on behalf of the woman. The novel details the murder plots, the streets of Los Angeles, and the criminal justice system of the day. It ends with an ironic but fated twist.
"Double Indemnity" also involves a scheme by a woman and her lover to murder the husband. In this case, the motive is more greed -- for the proceeds of an expensive insurance policy -- than lust. The narrator is an insurance salesman who becomes infatuated with the wife of an executive of an oil company. Thus, the story takes place among the middle and upper middle classes rather than among the poor; and, as was "Postman" it is narrated by the primary male character as a confessional before he meets his end. The leading female character in the book is sharply drawn and substantially more evil than her counterpart in "Postman." The book shows a good deal of internal development of its characters and works to a tense ending.
The third novel, "Mildred Pierce" is the longest and probably most substantial of the three. It has the same basic noir setting as the earlier works -- southern California in the 1930, but is much more psychologically probing than its companions. It does not involve a murder, but it shows even more than the shorter novels the darker aspects of human nature and the effects of lust and greed.
Cain's major character, Mildred Pierce, is a strongly and complexly drawn figure. She breaks with her philandering, ne'r do well husband and attempts to raise two young daughters on her own. She plays favorites between her two daughters. When the younger, less favored daughter tragically dies, Mildred redoubles her efforts towards the older girl, who Mildred believes, has great talent as a classical pianist. The girl, Vera, is ungrateful and spiteful from her youth, and much of the book involves the unraveling of the relationship between mother and daughter.
When she leaves her husband, Mildred has no apparent skills beyond the ability to bake pies. Yet Cain portrays her as a character of drive and ambition. Mildred is able to parlay a job she is forced to take as a waitress in a cheap restaurant, where she is groped and ogled, into a career as an entrepreneur. With this success, Mildred's story is ultimately a sad one as a result of her relationship with her daughter and her failed affairs with two unscrupulous and lustful men following her break with her husband. Cain offers a tough yet hard portrayal of a woman in a book which may grow with the reader.
I enjoyed reading these novels by Cain together with the stories which have qualities similar to the novels. This is a valuable book for those readers interested in noir or in American literature.
Robin Friedman
August 24, 2024
Aug 23, 9pm ~~ Nope, turns out I just can't do this. I tried a month or so ago to read Cain's novel Serenade and gave up because of distasteful attitudes by the narrator. I see the same thing showing up here, and I do not care to continue.
The only good thing for me with the book is that besides three novels, it also contains the short story The Baby In The Icebox, with print big enough to see (unlike a paperback copy I read years ago) so I read that story to Marco this afternoon and we both enjoyed it.
The three stars are for that story and that story alone.
DNF before the end of the first chapter of the first novel in the collection. Obviously Cain and I were not meant for each other.
The only good thing for me with the book is that besides three novels, it also contains the short story The Baby In The Icebox, with print big enough to see (unlike a paperback copy I read years ago) so I read that story to Marco this afternoon and we both enjoyed it.
The three stars are for that story and that story alone.
DNF before the end of the first chapter of the first novel in the collection. Obviously Cain and I were not meant for each other.
November 10, 2018
BOOK 94 - Mid-20th Century North American Crime Readathon - Round 3
I'm including a few exemplary short stories (and novellas and screenplays) to cover all bases in my readathon.
Here, Cain's short "Pastorale" deserves a notice: it's Cain's first published story.
HOOK=4 stars: "Well, it looks like Burbie is going to be hung. And if he does, what he can lay in on is, he always figured he was so damn smart," goes the opening paragraph. Why the hanging? Why the narrator's attitude? An unusual, intriguing opener.
PACE=5: In a blisteringly fast 8 pages, Cain pretty much tells the entire story of "Postman Always Rings Twice":
PLOT =4: A man meets a married woman and they decide to kill her old man (standard plot for this genre). They hire someone to do it, though, telling the to-be murderer the old man has a pot of money and the killer can have it once the deed is done. A darkly comic twist earns a 4th star.
CHARACTERS=3: Burbie left home at 16, joins a circus, and returns in 10 years. He has an affair with Lida (rather blank as far as character), the married woman. Hutch, out of prison, is the hired hand. Benny, the town sheriff, is also blank. It's a toss up as to who is the "damn smart" one and/or who is to be hung. But in only 8 pages, Cain gives us his best in:
ATMOSPHERE/PLACE=5: The town is frozen, literally and figuratively. The ground, the creek, the snow - a pastoral of blinding bright white -brings the plan to a screeching halt and lifts the story from ordinary to very good. A great utilization of atmosphere to propel/frustrate the plans of the bad guys/gal.
SUMMARY: If you're a fan of Cain, this story is not to be missed. My overall rating is 4.2.
"Postman Always Rings Twice" - 1934 - 2.8
"Double Indemnity" - 1936 - 3.6 ("Postman" but with additional characterizations and plot elements.)
"Pastorale" - 1928 - 4.2 (No doubt the source of "Postman")
James Cain author average - 3.53
I'm including a few exemplary short stories (and novellas and screenplays) to cover all bases in my readathon.
Here, Cain's short "Pastorale" deserves a notice: it's Cain's first published story.
HOOK=4 stars: "Well, it looks like Burbie is going to be hung. And if he does, what he can lay in on is, he always figured he was so damn smart," goes the opening paragraph. Why the hanging? Why the narrator's attitude? An unusual, intriguing opener.
PACE=5: In a blisteringly fast 8 pages, Cain pretty much tells the entire story of "Postman Always Rings Twice":
PLOT =4: A man meets a married woman and they decide to kill her old man (standard plot for this genre). They hire someone to do it, though, telling the to-be murderer the old man has a pot of money and the killer can have it once the deed is done. A darkly comic twist earns a 4th star.
CHARACTERS=3: Burbie left home at 16, joins a circus, and returns in 10 years. He has an affair with Lida (rather blank as far as character), the married woman. Hutch, out of prison, is the hired hand. Benny, the town sheriff, is also blank. It's a toss up as to who is the "damn smart" one and/or who is to be hung. But in only 8 pages, Cain gives us his best in:
ATMOSPHERE/PLACE=5: The town is frozen, literally and figuratively. The ground, the creek, the snow - a pastoral of blinding bright white -brings the plan to a screeching halt and lifts the story from ordinary to very good. A great utilization of atmosphere to propel/frustrate the plans of the bad guys/gal.
SUMMARY: If you're a fan of Cain, this story is not to be missed. My overall rating is 4.2.
"Postman Always Rings Twice" - 1934 - 2.8
"Double Indemnity" - 1936 - 3.6 ("Postman" but with additional characterizations and plot elements.)
"Pastorale" - 1928 - 4.2 (No doubt the source of "Postman")
James Cain author average - 3.53
May 12, 2010
This is certainly a big collection, and I have to say that perhaps reading all of the stories in one shot was not the greatest idea. It all tends to kind of blur together at points. However, I shall discuss each portion separately, and try to be fair.
The Postman Always Rings Twice - still gets 4 stars because it is really very well written, tense and suspenseful, but I do feel it kind of lags after the initial trial. However, that last line packs way more of a punch than I recalled. A-1 writing there.
Double Indemnity - Still giving it 5 stars. Probably the best Cain story, in my opinion (and not just because it's about insurance). Lots of scheming, deception and quick wits. Somewhat different from the movie version, but it works.
Mildred Pierce - Going between 3 and 3.5 stars. I wish I'd known just how LONG this story is when I first started. Because I'm used to the more economical Postman and Indemnity, I was quite unprepared for this sprawling pretty-much-almost-novel. I did find the characterization very well done and was somewhat emotionally invested in the story, but my interest ebbed and flowed, and more than once I thought with some exasperation, "When is this story going to be over already? And is anybody going to get killed yet?" I think this one deserves a reread though, considering that it is so different from Postman and Indemnity.
Selected Stories - "Pastorale"'s narrative voice didn't do a whole lot for me, but "The Baby in the Icebox" was pretty interesting. (How could it not be, with a title like that?) Good plot in that one. Didn't really think much of "Dead Man", was somewhat more receptive to "Brush Fire", and quite frankly didn't see much of a point to "The Girl in the Storm". So a bit underwhelming on the short story front, perhaps because I was on a Cain burnout, especially with the marathon that is Mildred Pierce.
In short, if you get this collection, don't read it all at once! Savour a story at a time. Read it at home with a minimum of distractions. Soak in the atmosphere and the characterization. Then rent the movie of Double Indemnity, with Barbara Stanwyck. (You could also rent Postman with Lana Turner, and Mildred Pierce with Joan Crawford, but I haven't seen those so can't give an opinion on them.)
The Postman Always Rings Twice - still gets 4 stars because it is really very well written, tense and suspenseful, but I do feel it kind of lags after the initial trial. However, that last line packs way more of a punch than I recalled. A-1 writing there.
Double Indemnity - Still giving it 5 stars. Probably the best Cain story, in my opinion (and not just because it's about insurance). Lots of scheming, deception and quick wits. Somewhat different from the movie version, but it works.
Mildred Pierce - Going between 3 and 3.5 stars. I wish I'd known just how LONG this story is when I first started. Because I'm used to the more economical Postman and Indemnity, I was quite unprepared for this sprawling pretty-much-almost-novel. I did find the characterization very well done and was somewhat emotionally invested in the story, but my interest ebbed and flowed, and more than once I thought with some exasperation, "When is this story going to be over already? And is anybody going to get killed yet?" I think this one deserves a reread though, considering that it is so different from Postman and Indemnity.
Selected Stories - "Pastorale"'s narrative voice didn't do a whole lot for me, but "The Baby in the Icebox" was pretty interesting. (How could it not be, with a title like that?) Good plot in that one. Didn't really think much of "Dead Man", was somewhat more receptive to "Brush Fire", and quite frankly didn't see much of a point to "The Girl in the Storm". So a bit underwhelming on the short story front, perhaps because I was on a Cain burnout, especially with the marathon that is Mildred Pierce.
In short, if you get this collection, don't read it all at once! Savour a story at a time. Read it at home with a minimum of distractions. Soak in the atmosphere and the characterization. Then rent the movie of Double Indemnity, with Barbara Stanwyck. (You could also rent Postman with Lana Turner, and Mildred Pierce with Joan Crawford, but I haven't seen those so can't give an opinion on them.)
November 3, 2024
I'm not sure how I wound up at Cain (I think Dennis Lehane spawned some googling of influences) but I'm glad I did. I hunted down Postman from the library and initially wasn't aware of the contents so was pleasantly surprised to find some familiar names (though I've never seen any of the movie or tv versions).
Postman is starkly savage and straight to the point with a wonderful pace and set up. For my money though, Double Indemnity was the best of the bunch. It shares some common themes with Postman but has a more satisfying depth, a great femme fatale and a thrilling ending.
After that one-two punch, Mildred Pierce is a strong contrast. Long, lazy and happy to take time, it manages to cast a compelling tale from a collection of somewhat unlikeable characters and in Veda creates a most unpleasantly devious creature. It's good stuff and in quiet contrast to the flashy and brutal early stories, though still manages to pack a few punches and some emotional heft. I quite enjoyed it.
I also quite enjoyed the short stories rounding things off, in particular Baby in the Ice Box which was just bonkers and the brief but powerful Brush Fire.
Cain has a way with language that strikes to the core. It's commonplace and essential and really sells the concepts he works with. There's a distinct poetry in the prose contrasting with the harshness of the people and the lives he portrays.
I'm compelled to add a copy to my personal shelves. There's a lot of re-reading potential here and they feel like stories you could grow old with. Excellent stuff.
Nov 2024
Well I inadvertently did buy this book, having completely forgotten I’d already read it. I’m sure I checked on here first but oh well. More reading for me!
Postman is starkly savage and straight to the point with a wonderful pace and set up. For my money though, Double Indemnity was the best of the bunch. It shares some common themes with Postman but has a more satisfying depth, a great femme fatale and a thrilling ending.
After that one-two punch, Mildred Pierce is a strong contrast. Long, lazy and happy to take time, it manages to cast a compelling tale from a collection of somewhat unlikeable characters and in Veda creates a most unpleasantly devious creature. It's good stuff and in quiet contrast to the flashy and brutal early stories, though still manages to pack a few punches and some emotional heft. I quite enjoyed it.
I also quite enjoyed the short stories rounding things off, in particular Baby in the Ice Box which was just bonkers and the brief but powerful Brush Fire.
Cain has a way with language that strikes to the core. It's commonplace and essential and really sells the concepts he works with. There's a distinct poetry in the prose contrasting with the harshness of the people and the lives he portrays.
I'm compelled to add a copy to my personal shelves. There's a lot of re-reading potential here and they feel like stories you could grow old with. Excellent stuff.
Nov 2024
Well I inadvertently did buy this book, having completely forgotten I’d already read it. I’m sure I checked on here first but oh well. More reading for me!
May 3, 2015
I had previously read the longer works in this collection but kept it kicking around until I could get to the short stories. I am glad I did. They were great reads and Cain doesn't lose any of his skill when penning shorter work. Although I've read and reviewed the novels before, I would be doing a disservice to those who have not if I didn't mention how awesome Cain is. Mildred Pierce is one of my favorite novels. Tom Wolfe is quoted as saying that even Chandler can't approach what Cain has done in those works. I don't think I would say that. Cain's work maybe captures the struggling restless human character a bit better, but Chandler's writing is more witty and captivating. Both fantastic in their own right.
December 23, 2015
This is a terrific collection of some of the very best of James M. Cain's fiction. I really enjoyed rereading The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity, but it was my first-time reading of Mildred Pierce that really made an impression on me. Mildred Pierce is a novel of high quality and an extraordinary character study of a woman trying to make something of herself in Los Angeles in the 1930s. Mildred felt like a real person to me, I rooted for her and wanted her to succeed, but it was her dangerously dysfunctional relationship with her eldest daughter, Veda, that was the heart and soul of the novel and was fascinating to watch it unfold over the years. At times reading this book kind of felt like what it must be to stand by watching two cars in a high-speed head-on collision. This was novel that I know I will read again and again. It really is that good!
I would give the entire collection 4.5 stars of 5, but Mildred Pierce gets a solid 5 stars!
I would give the entire collection 4.5 stars of 5, but Mildred Pierce gets a solid 5 stars!
October 19, 2009
For anyone wanting to explore the works of Cain, I highly recommend this Everyman's Library edition. The editor made great choices regarding what to include and in which order. Each of the three novels was better than its predecessor, and the short stories at the end are like lovely niblets of almost-too-ripe fruit and delicious stinky cheese after a fine three-course meal full of fat and cholesterol. You love every bite, even while dreading the inevitable heart attack.
This entry is specifically for the Selected Stories portion of the compilation (I noted and reviewed the novels individually). The best summary I can think of is a New York Times quote on the back of the book: "Cain can get down to the primary impulses of greed and sex in fewer words than any writer we know of."
This entry is specifically for the Selected Stories portion of the compilation (I noted and reviewed the novels individually). The best summary I can think of is a New York Times quote on the back of the book: "Cain can get down to the primary impulses of greed and sex in fewer words than any writer we know of."
January 27, 2015
Three stars, as an average for the four novels.
The Postman Always Rings Twice: 3 stars
Mildred Pierce: 4 stars
Double Indemnity: 3 stars
Serenade: 2 and 1/2 stars
The Postman Always Rings Twice: 3 stars
Mildred Pierce: 4 stars
Double Indemnity: 3 stars
Serenade: 2 and 1/2 stars
December 31, 2020
The Postman Always Rings Twice is frickin' incredible. Forget about noir, that is literature. Cain is a subtle master. Never mincing a word, he conveys so much more than is on the page -- seriously, the imagery I have of this story is incredible (especially the beach, the ocean near the end), yet you can whiz through Cain's prose in a few hours. He got me so invested in those psychos, their love. Just an air-tight story, a hitter, indeed.
Some say Double Indemnity is a more polished version of the same story, and of course there are glaring similarities. But there are important differences, and honestly I think The Postman was more successful -- it just has more character, with its unbridled, uncensored flow, its passion. Double Indemnity is more technical -- the protagonist is more intelligent, despite his weakness for Phyllis, for one thing -- and less flavourful. Still great, though.
Here I must admit I haven't yet read Mildred Pierce, but I look forward to it immensely -- and I will update this review when I do.
Pastorale, one of the short stories, is like a dumbed down, heavily vernacular account of Cain's classic kind of hapless murder story -- the wrench, the accident, the woman -- but is significantly shallow compared to the novels.
More to come, but I just had to get this down -- Cain is a writer that writers can appreciate -- he is, in his way, a master, akin to Hemmingway, but way more out there, in your face, and boiling with sick, twisted passion -- and, well, the morals speak for themselves. Maybe it's not the greatest noir out there, but it will endure as effective, commanding literature.
Some say Double Indemnity is a more polished version of the same story, and of course there are glaring similarities. But there are important differences, and honestly I think The Postman was more successful -- it just has more character, with its unbridled, uncensored flow, its passion. Double Indemnity is more technical -- the protagonist is more intelligent, despite his weakness for Phyllis, for one thing -- and less flavourful. Still great, though.
Here I must admit I haven't yet read Mildred Pierce, but I look forward to it immensely -- and I will update this review when I do.
Pastorale, one of the short stories, is like a dumbed down, heavily vernacular account of Cain's classic kind of hapless murder story -- the wrench, the accident, the woman -- but is significantly shallow compared to the novels.
More to come, but I just had to get this down -- Cain is a writer that writers can appreciate -- he is, in his way, a master, akin to Hemmingway, but way more out there, in your face, and boiling with sick, twisted passion -- and, well, the morals speak for themselves. Maybe it's not the greatest noir out there, but it will endure as effective, commanding literature.
June 20, 2024
James Cain‘s stories are always fun to read - mini book-bound film noirs, usually about a man who knows better, but falls anyway for that sexy married woman with murderous intentions. It hardly ever turns out well for the man. “Mildred Pierce” had to be my favorite though - more novella than short story, it veered in a different direction than most of Cain‘s plots.
November 5, 2020
I revisit this omnibus every few years, and always find a new appreciation for the nuances. This time was no different. In particular, James M. Cain is a master of the narrative voice, with each story a lesson on technique. Genius!
April 16, 2008
Of the four novels in this hardback edition (of which I've read two and found them wonderful), I most recently read The Serenade. I was made curious to read it a couple of months ago from a stray reference I came across in Thomas Mann's diary from the year 1939, when he was in exile and in residence at Princeton. He received Cain's book in the mail, looked through it after lunch, and then noted: "Serenade is attractive." I think what he meant was: "Serenade is absolutely fantastic, and I'm going to base Dr. Faustus on it." (Please note: I haven't read Dr. Faustus yet, so I'm just making a mis-educated guess here. . . .)
The story is about a washed-up opera singer, John Howard Sharp, who, after an illustrious career in Europe and a mysterious withdrawal from the musical world at the height of his celebrity, is playing guitar in a jazz band in Mexico City and is otherwise a drunk. He falls in love with a prostitute (named Juana, so they have the same name), gets his voice back in an amazing-and violent-scene in which the two lovers, on a road trip, are stranded in a tiny country church during a massive flood and rainstorm. He brings Juana to Los Angeles, breaks back into singing by bursting on stage at a public opera concert and improvising his way through a piece. By the end of the night he has a movie contract and within weeks he is churning out movies and recordings. Eventually they move to NYC where Sharp becomes the reigning singer at the Metropolitan Opera. There is this incredible sense of competence, expertise and easy confidence in this character, and the "hard-boiled" language of Cain is magically capable of describing not only the drunken low life of Mexico City, but also the finest and most technical nuances of musical performance and the most intricate scheming and bullshitting of the Hollywood studio system.
The fame is interrupted when a famous conductor returns from Europe and competes for Sharp's professional attention, at the same time stalking him and Juana, now learning English. This twist in the story makes explicit the vague and doom-laden relations between sexuality and artistic performance, both between men and between a man and a woman. Not just the "high-art" stuff, but also the frank treatment of homosexuality make this a very untypical hard-boiled story. The book, like most of Cain's, doesn't end well for lovers (of any kind). Doom and downfall wash over everyone and in the end; those moments of sexual union, artistic beauty, and professional success are revealed to be what you hoped they weren't all along: deceptions, brief respites from a more powerful, merciless fate.
Really stunning writing, such rhythm and density that every gesture, every action, every description, every line of dialogue is chiseled, heavy with meaning and forbodeing, yet light and alive, for a little while at least.
The story is about a washed-up opera singer, John Howard Sharp, who, after an illustrious career in Europe and a mysterious withdrawal from the musical world at the height of his celebrity, is playing guitar in a jazz band in Mexico City and is otherwise a drunk. He falls in love with a prostitute (named Juana, so they have the same name), gets his voice back in an amazing-and violent-scene in which the two lovers, on a road trip, are stranded in a tiny country church during a massive flood and rainstorm. He brings Juana to Los Angeles, breaks back into singing by bursting on stage at a public opera concert and improvising his way through a piece. By the end of the night he has a movie contract and within weeks he is churning out movies and recordings. Eventually they move to NYC where Sharp becomes the reigning singer at the Metropolitan Opera. There is this incredible sense of competence, expertise and easy confidence in this character, and the "hard-boiled" language of Cain is magically capable of describing not only the drunken low life of Mexico City, but also the finest and most technical nuances of musical performance and the most intricate scheming and bullshitting of the Hollywood studio system.
The fame is interrupted when a famous conductor returns from Europe and competes for Sharp's professional attention, at the same time stalking him and Juana, now learning English. This twist in the story makes explicit the vague and doom-laden relations between sexuality and artistic performance, both between men and between a man and a woman. Not just the "high-art" stuff, but also the frank treatment of homosexuality make this a very untypical hard-boiled story. The book, like most of Cain's, doesn't end well for lovers (of any kind). Doom and downfall wash over everyone and in the end; those moments of sexual union, artistic beauty, and professional success are revealed to be what you hoped they weren't all along: deceptions, brief respites from a more powerful, merciless fate.
Really stunning writing, such rhythm and density that every gesture, every action, every description, every line of dialogue is chiseled, heavy with meaning and forbodeing, yet light and alive, for a little while at least.
September 1, 2025
The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M Cain is included on the 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read List, The Modern Library Top 100 and The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time and hence a classic noir
10 out of 10
The Postman Always Rings Twice is clearly one of the best reads one can find http://realini.blogspot.com/2012/04/p... seeing as it is acclaimed by critics and readers with various tastes and preferences, as mentioned above, it is with the 1,000, the 100 best and not just in the arena of the writers of mystery books, but it has impressed critics at large…
Our professor of literature, the majestic Anton Chevorchian, used to say that a great opus has a mystery in it, and we can think of the quintessential Crime and Punishment http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/06/c... of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, probably the ultimate crime story, as the tile indicates, raising the question of what humans are worth living and the morality of a life, the holiness of existence, the meaning of it, and much more about this…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been commended to death, and this story was related to us, the lucky ones, by the same Anton Chevorchian – if there is a heaven, I was going to say I hope he is there, but then there is no question about it, if we have an Eden, that is – and we found that the great writer was facing the execution squad, with three minutes left to live, which he left for admiring a ray of sunshine on a church tower, to say goodbye to friends and pass his life in front of him, before departing..,
He is pardoned at the last moment (unless the condemnation was just a scheme, meant to scare the revolutionary) and he lives to share with us, the readers, the thoughts, feeling of the man who is facing death, how he would rather live on a bare rock, in the middle of the ocean than cease to be extant, something we find in his magnum opera http://realini.blogspot.com/2021/01/t...
I wrote some more, and then had to return for an alert (not a spoiler, in the sense that I mention who does it, that is actually clear pretty soon, the two main characters, Frank Chambers and Cora Papadakis, seem pretty determined, once they became infatuated with each other, to dispatch the third man in the ménage a trois, Nick Papadakis, Cora’s husband and employer for Frank…nonetheless, it will be a complex narrative, with quite a few surprises, it is for good reason that the novel has gained so much acclaim and has had such a huge success, it was adapted multiple times for the big screen)
From here on, this note has nothing to do with The Postman…Mircea Cartarescu http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/09/l... is our greatest writer, has won some prestigious awards, the latest was gained in California, and he was celebrated on TVR Cultural, where he talked about the difference between European critics (say the Germans, who are very strict, laborious and serious, to the point) and the American ones – the latter say a couple of sentences about the work they are presumed to analyze and then go into personal sensations, experiences, what happened to them decades back when they first encountered the author, it is much more about them than the work, and Cartarescu was not upset with that, he thinks they have a lively, interesting perspective
Facing termination is one issue at this stage, for the tests done recently have brought me to the realization that the final countdown could be close, nearer than expected and perhaps hoped for, though there is also a sense that I am not really all that bothered, which is not a good sign, it could be terminal, as Victor Frankl observes in the narrative about his experience in the Nazi death camps, during World War II
One of the Fifty Psychology Classics is Man’s Search for Meaning http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/05/m... by Victor Frankl, who had been sent to the camps, notwithstanding the fact that he could escape, he refused his special status, because his family would not be exempted with him, and he writes about what happened in those terrible places, when one lost the meaning, he would die very soon (he was with men in the same place)
So what am I to do with this new found negligence…I mean, on the one side there are some changes to the diet, high cholesterol means a stop to greasy sausages, foods roasted in oil and such like, but what is left, veggies are not such a thing (if at all) for me, fruit will do if they are strawberries and black berries, otherwise, apples and avocados, not so much…there comes the season for cherries, so that is a good thing
Andrei Plesu is one of the greatest thinkers of the world, albeit known only in this realm, and he has a conference on old age – which I guess would be called ‘mature’ so as to be politically correct – and he insists on the fact that at one stage, we should prepare for departure, which for an older being is not so calamitous, it is a tragedy when it struck their young ones, he is also referring to Cicero and other sages that classify over fifties as maturity, old age will only start at seventy, and that is a relief, if a short one…
The Postman Always Rings Twice has brought home the notion that one could be ‘in the way’, he is not only without support, humans that want him near and close, but on the contrary, he is better off dead, as that would release the restrictions on the finances, the movements and so on, which is a very unhappy place to be – happy people live longer than the others, and what the happiest have in common, research has demonstrated , is ‘strong connections with family and friends, and therefore, when your family wishes you departed, not near, what are the chances of a serene, cathartic life in Arcadia?
Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
10 out of 10
The Postman Always Rings Twice is clearly one of the best reads one can find http://realini.blogspot.com/2012/04/p... seeing as it is acclaimed by critics and readers with various tastes and preferences, as mentioned above, it is with the 1,000, the 100 best and not just in the arena of the writers of mystery books, but it has impressed critics at large…
Our professor of literature, the majestic Anton Chevorchian, used to say that a great opus has a mystery in it, and we can think of the quintessential Crime and Punishment http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/06/c... of Fyodor Dostoyevsky, probably the ultimate crime story, as the tile indicates, raising the question of what humans are worth living and the morality of a life, the holiness of existence, the meaning of it, and much more about this…
Fyodor Dostoyevsky has been commended to death, and this story was related to us, the lucky ones, by the same Anton Chevorchian – if there is a heaven, I was going to say I hope he is there, but then there is no question about it, if we have an Eden, that is – and we found that the great writer was facing the execution squad, with three minutes left to live, which he left for admiring a ray of sunshine on a church tower, to say goodbye to friends and pass his life in front of him, before departing..,
He is pardoned at the last moment (unless the condemnation was just a scheme, meant to scare the revolutionary) and he lives to share with us, the readers, the thoughts, feeling of the man who is facing death, how he would rather live on a bare rock, in the middle of the ocean than cease to be extant, something we find in his magnum opera http://realini.blogspot.com/2021/01/t...
I wrote some more, and then had to return for an alert (not a spoiler, in the sense that I mention who does it, that is actually clear pretty soon, the two main characters, Frank Chambers and Cora Papadakis, seem pretty determined, once they became infatuated with each other, to dispatch the third man in the ménage a trois, Nick Papadakis, Cora’s husband and employer for Frank…nonetheless, it will be a complex narrative, with quite a few surprises, it is for good reason that the novel has gained so much acclaim and has had such a huge success, it was adapted multiple times for the big screen)
From here on, this note has nothing to do with The Postman…Mircea Cartarescu http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/09/l... is our greatest writer, has won some prestigious awards, the latest was gained in California, and he was celebrated on TVR Cultural, where he talked about the difference between European critics (say the Germans, who are very strict, laborious and serious, to the point) and the American ones – the latter say a couple of sentences about the work they are presumed to analyze and then go into personal sensations, experiences, what happened to them decades back when they first encountered the author, it is much more about them than the work, and Cartarescu was not upset with that, he thinks they have a lively, interesting perspective
Facing termination is one issue at this stage, for the tests done recently have brought me to the realization that the final countdown could be close, nearer than expected and perhaps hoped for, though there is also a sense that I am not really all that bothered, which is not a good sign, it could be terminal, as Victor Frankl observes in the narrative about his experience in the Nazi death camps, during World War II
One of the Fifty Psychology Classics is Man’s Search for Meaning http://realini.blogspot.com/2013/05/m... by Victor Frankl, who had been sent to the camps, notwithstanding the fact that he could escape, he refused his special status, because his family would not be exempted with him, and he writes about what happened in those terrible places, when one lost the meaning, he would die very soon (he was with men in the same place)
So what am I to do with this new found negligence…I mean, on the one side there are some changes to the diet, high cholesterol means a stop to greasy sausages, foods roasted in oil and such like, but what is left, veggies are not such a thing (if at all) for me, fruit will do if they are strawberries and black berries, otherwise, apples and avocados, not so much…there comes the season for cherries, so that is a good thing
Andrei Plesu is one of the greatest thinkers of the world, albeit known only in this realm, and he has a conference on old age – which I guess would be called ‘mature’ so as to be politically correct – and he insists on the fact that at one stage, we should prepare for departure, which for an older being is not so calamitous, it is a tragedy when it struck their young ones, he is also referring to Cicero and other sages that classify over fifties as maturity, old age will only start at seventy, and that is a relief, if a short one…
The Postman Always Rings Twice has brought home the notion that one could be ‘in the way’, he is not only without support, humans that want him near and close, but on the contrary, he is better off dead, as that would release the restrictions on the finances, the movements and so on, which is a very unhappy place to be – happy people live longer than the others, and what the happiest have in common, research has demonstrated , is ‘strong connections with family and friends, and therefore, when your family wishes you departed, not near, what are the chances of a serene, cathartic life in Arcadia?
Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
August 31, 2021
So this is what it's like reading the master of crime novels. Short, tightly plotted, told without any fluff. The narrator carries the story with a sharp voice and introduces the femme fatale, the lover for whom you'd do anything, yes even kill someone for. The books have an intimate feel, like your friend is telling you this shocking story over lunch, going straight to the juicy bits, not bothering you with flashbacks to their childhood or too much dialogue or whatever. Despite the shortness of the books, the setting of Prohibition-era southern California pops off the page, in crystal clear detail.
Mildred Pierce was something entirely different, not really a crime novel, though the finale was quite a twist as with Cain's other novels. The novel runs along similarly, in a plain language, telling the story of a housewife on the verge of destitution, and her efforts to bring herself and her daughter out of the edge of poverty during the Great Depression. Although not a crime novel, the drama here is more real, and no less suspenseful for it.
Mildred Pierce was something entirely different, not really a crime novel, though the finale was quite a twist as with Cain's other novels. The novel runs along similarly, in a plain language, telling the story of a housewife on the verge of destitution, and her efforts to bring herself and her daughter out of the edge of poverty during the Great Depression. Although not a crime novel, the drama here is more real, and no less suspenseful for it.
May 16, 2018
If it hadn't been for Mildred Pierce, I would have given the book a slightly lower rating than the four stars I've given it now, because for me this psychological novel was by far the best bit of the book. The Postman always rings twice and Double Indemnity weren't bad either, but they were crime stories, and that is just not as much my thing as a good psychological novel is :-)
My ratings:
The Postman always rings twice ***
Double Indemnity ***
Mildred Pierce *****
Pastorale **
The Baby in the Icebox **
Dead Man ***
Brush Fire ***
The Girl in the Storm **
My ratings:
The Postman always rings twice ***
Double Indemnity ***
Mildred Pierce *****
Pastorale **
The Baby in the Icebox **
Dead Man ***
Brush Fire ***
The Girl in the Storm **
March 23, 2016
West Coast America in the 1930s was obviously a tough place. Few jobs, prohibition, scandals, and lots of murders - and the people all seem uneducated.
I liked 'Double Indemnity' which had some similarities with the classic 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' with a murder, insurance fraud, sex and a sad ending. 'Mildred Pierce' filled half the book and was a very different story with Mildred making a life for herself out of pure hard work just to see her daughter throw everything back at her. The short stories were fine and gave a good conclusion to this body of work.
I liked 'Double Indemnity' which had some similarities with the classic 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' with a murder, insurance fraud, sex and a sad ending. 'Mildred Pierce' filled half the book and was a very different story with Mildred making a life for herself out of pure hard work just to see her daughter throw everything back at her. The short stories were fine and gave a good conclusion to this body of work.
December 12, 2016
If you are a fan of film noir, these are the stories the movies were based on. I also really enjoyed reading Mildred Pierce in particular even though it does not read as dark as Postman or Double Indemnity. Will not describe any more as it would spoil the plots.
July 14, 2017
Picked this up at Cracked and Spineless in Hobart the other day. The two noir novellas are exquisite, Mildred Pierce is a slow-burner but a good read too, and the stories are a bit of a mixed bag. But The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity (the latter my favourite) are unparalleled.
July 8, 2015
What else can I say? Cain is a master.
May 5, 2024
Great anthology of James M Cain's works.
This is quite a nice collection of works by Cain. Most of the works have the same theme. They aren't detective crime fiction. They're what is called Noir Fiction. They mostly deal with obsessive lust and murder. The collection contains five short stories:
To be honest, I didn't complete the introduction. There is only so much I can take in terms of a love fest of an author before I dive in and read his works for my own enjoyment. Suffice it to say that the experts think highly of Cain's works.
I have provided reviews of the novels elsewhere except for Mildred Pierce. I will provide a review of that below. The short stories were very similar in character with one another and like I said above, they all dealt with murder in some manner. Mildred Pierce on the other hand was quite different.
I don't know where Cain got his idea for Mildred Pierce but it isn't just a simple story. Mildred Pierce is a life story of a woman and her many trials and tribulations.
I suppose this novel was new ground when written but today it's old ground. Mildred's thoughts and actions are "normal". The only thought Mildred had I thought was outdated was her aversion to working in the service industry. I don't know of anyone I've known in my lifetime who at one time or another wasn't employed in the service industry.
I found all the thoughts and actions of Mildred and her friends very realistic. Especially Mildred's determined mind in breaking off with her boyfriend despite a historic rain storm. This action by her was so very typical of the female mind. Perhaps I should say an illogical mind. Common sense would tell you to postpone the breakup for better weather.
I didn't know where Cain was going with this story, however that said, the ending was very predictable. Even though Mildred herself couldn't fathom where to find Veda, I knew exactly where she would be. The relationship Mildred had with Veda was very unhealthy; certainly not a mother/daughter relationship. I knew very early on Veda was going to be a problem. Cain did an excellent job portraying the mentally unhealthy, and even though Mildred had issues, it was fun routing for her.
They've made several movies of Mildred Pierce and a mini series.
This is quite a nice collection of works by Cain. Most of the works have the same theme. They aren't detective crime fiction. They're what is called Noir Fiction. They mostly deal with obsessive lust and murder. The collection contains five short stories:
- Pastoralein addition to three novels:
- The Baby in the Ice Box
- Dead Man
- Brush Fire
- The Girl in the Storm
- The Postman Always Rings Twiceand also a rather lengthy introduction, selected bibliography and a "timeline". The timeline gives side by side comparison of what was happening in Cain's life with what was happening in history.
- Double Indemnity
- Mildred Pierce
To be honest, I didn't complete the introduction. There is only so much I can take in terms of a love fest of an author before I dive in and read his works for my own enjoyment. Suffice it to say that the experts think highly of Cain's works.
I have provided reviews of the novels elsewhere except for Mildred Pierce. I will provide a review of that below. The short stories were very similar in character with one another and like I said above, they all dealt with murder in some manner. Mildred Pierce on the other hand was quite different.
I don't know where Cain got his idea for Mildred Pierce but it isn't just a simple story. Mildred Pierce is a life story of a woman and her many trials and tribulations.
I suppose this novel was new ground when written but today it's old ground. Mildred's thoughts and actions are "normal". The only thought Mildred had I thought was outdated was her aversion to working in the service industry. I don't know of anyone I've known in my lifetime who at one time or another wasn't employed in the service industry.
I found all the thoughts and actions of Mildred and her friends very realistic. Especially Mildred's determined mind in breaking off with her boyfriend despite a historic rain storm. This action by her was so very typical of the female mind. Perhaps I should say an illogical mind. Common sense would tell you to postpone the breakup for better weather.
I didn't know where Cain was going with this story, however that said, the ending was very predictable. Even though Mildred herself couldn't fathom where to find Veda, I knew exactly where she would be. The relationship Mildred had with Veda was very unhealthy; certainly not a mother/daughter relationship. I knew very early on Veda was going to be a problem. Cain did an excellent job portraying the mentally unhealthy, and even though Mildred had issues, it was fun routing for her.
They've made several movies of Mildred Pierce and a mini series.
December 8, 2024
Finally got around to reading Cain as opposed to seeing movies based on his work. Was very much impressed. His writing has a natural flow and directness that can't be found in the likes of Hammett and Chandler. Really good plot lines and characters, too.
The Postman Always Rings Twice — I didn't think the original film version was nearly as good as Double Indemnity but I found the book version surprisingly a little better. Raw lust, a femme fatale who has class insecurity as much on her mind as boredom with her husband, two murderers who talk themselves into thinking they are smarter than they really are. All handled with convincing prose from one of the murderers recollecting what happened.
Double Indemnity — The book is almost as good as The Postman but it perhaps devotes a little too much attention to Walter's detailed and devious planning. The final scenes are lurid. I guess they're OK as a way to underline that Phyllis is a psychopath, but they seem a bit over the top. Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder did a great job simplifying the story line and highlighting the essentials when they adapted the novella for the classic 1944 film. They also shaped a more elegant ending.
Mildred Pierce — Read this one a little reluctantly because I had an impression it's something of a soap opera. Was surprised to find the first third of this novel (much longer and more complex than the two novellas) arguably surpassing the writing of the other two by a slim margin. It also features both deeper psychological probing and a fuller depiction of life among the less affluent in 1930s California. Mildred's financial ups and downs happen a little too quickly and easily to be fully credible but that's all right. Less palatable is her horridly snobbish, selfish, and sneaky daughter Veda. I wondered if I could get through the novel just because Veda was so repellent. Fortunately, her appearances are sporadic, although having high impact. Veda's career moves along even more quickly than Mildred's but its improbable pace is offset by the consistency of her moral emptiness. There are strong performances from the supporting characters, and a hilarious although devastating explanation by an orchestra conductor to Mildred that a singer like Veda will always be a bad person.
Did not read the shorter pieces in the collection but will probably get to them someday because the longer ones are so good.
The introduction by editor Robert Polito is very good; like many others, however, for anyone wanting to avoid spoilers it is best read after reading the stories.
The Postman Always Rings Twice — I didn't think the original film version was nearly as good as Double Indemnity but I found the book version surprisingly a little better. Raw lust, a femme fatale who has class insecurity as much on her mind as boredom with her husband, two murderers who talk themselves into thinking they are smarter than they really are. All handled with convincing prose from one of the murderers recollecting what happened.
Double Indemnity — The book is almost as good as The Postman but it perhaps devotes a little too much attention to Walter's detailed and devious planning. The final scenes are lurid. I guess they're OK as a way to underline that Phyllis is a psychopath, but they seem a bit over the top. Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder did a great job simplifying the story line and highlighting the essentials when they adapted the novella for the classic 1944 film. They also shaped a more elegant ending.
Mildred Pierce — Read this one a little reluctantly because I had an impression it's something of a soap opera. Was surprised to find the first third of this novel (much longer and more complex than the two novellas) arguably surpassing the writing of the other two by a slim margin. It also features both deeper psychological probing and a fuller depiction of life among the less affluent in 1930s California. Mildred's financial ups and downs happen a little too quickly and easily to be fully credible but that's all right. Less palatable is her horridly snobbish, selfish, and sneaky daughter Veda. I wondered if I could get through the novel just because Veda was so repellent. Fortunately, her appearances are sporadic, although having high impact. Veda's career moves along even more quickly than Mildred's but its improbable pace is offset by the consistency of her moral emptiness. There are strong performances from the supporting characters, and a hilarious although devastating explanation by an orchestra conductor to Mildred that a singer like Veda will always be a bad person.
Did not read the shorter pieces in the collection but will probably get to them someday because the longer ones are so good.
The introduction by editor Robert Polito is very good; like many others, however, for anyone wanting to avoid spoilers it is best read after reading the stories.
Read
July 26, 2024Plowed through the three novels and five short stories here. The word propulsive comes to mind. Clipped, to-the-point sentences, often in a conversational first-person voice, pushing you along through the plot.
Cain trucks most often in crime stories where scummy characters abound. The Postman Always Rings Twice is about a loner drifter who falls for a married woman who then ropes him into a scheme to murder her husband, with disastrous consequences for both the drifter and the woman once the plan is carried out. Swap the word drifter for insurance agent, and the same sentence could be used to sum up Double Indemnity. The writing in both is strongest during the scheming, the carrying out, and the covering up of the crimes—weakest in the annoyingly expository third acts that follow most of the action.
I guess Cain was a little tired of the formula by the time he got to writing Mildred Pierce, but he was clearly no less bitter. What a bleak, cynical ending for Mildred, her relationship with her daughter, and the rise and fall of her restaurant empire. Still, Pierce ends up being the most interesting of the three novels in this collection. I wonder how many other male writers of the 1930s/1940s bothered to even try exploring the social, financial, and legal difficulties of Depression-era single motherhood.
You can tell a man was doing the writing, though. Cain devotes as many sentences if not more to Mildred’s anatomy (and that of her underage daughter!!!) as he does to her husband’s backstory. Postman and Indemnity are equally horny and leering (Postman so much so that it became the subject of an obscenity trial in Boston), but since they’re written as first-person accounts from thirsty single men, the passages fit more naturally there. In Mildred Pierce, written in the third person, there are moments where it feels like Cain was the ur-text for the "breasted boobily" meme. My eyes couldn't roll back any farther.
Overall, these are good yarns that read fast. But when it comes to pulpy fiction of the ’30s/’40s, Chandler and Hammett’s works still reign supreme.
Cain trucks most often in crime stories where scummy characters abound. The Postman Always Rings Twice is about a loner drifter who falls for a married woman who then ropes him into a scheme to murder her husband, with disastrous consequences for both the drifter and the woman once the plan is carried out. Swap the word drifter for insurance agent, and the same sentence could be used to sum up Double Indemnity. The writing in both is strongest during the scheming, the carrying out, and the covering up of the crimes—weakest in the annoyingly expository third acts that follow most of the action.
I guess Cain was a little tired of the formula by the time he got to writing Mildred Pierce, but he was clearly no less bitter. What a bleak, cynical ending for Mildred, her relationship with her daughter, and the rise and fall of her restaurant empire. Still, Pierce ends up being the most interesting of the three novels in this collection. I wonder how many other male writers of the 1930s/1940s bothered to even try exploring the social, financial, and legal difficulties of Depression-era single motherhood.
You can tell a man was doing the writing, though. Cain devotes as many sentences if not more to Mildred’s anatomy (and that of her underage daughter!!!) as he does to her husband’s backstory. Postman and Indemnity are equally horny and leering (Postman so much so that it became the subject of an obscenity trial in Boston), but since they’re written as first-person accounts from thirsty single men, the passages fit more naturally there. In Mildred Pierce, written in the third person, there are moments where it feels like Cain was the ur-text for the "breasted boobily" meme. My eyes couldn't roll back any farther.
Overall, these are good yarns that read fast. But when it comes to pulpy fiction of the ’30s/’40s, Chandler and Hammett’s works still reign supreme.
September 29, 2019
The only negative thing I can say about the writings of James M. Cain is that he is a dialogue writer. Many of his manuscripts are sentence-after-sentence of people talking. Sometimes, his stories read more like a screenplay than an actual novel. With that being said, let's move onto the positives.
To have his biggest-and-best works all in one volume and to have them put into an Everyman's Library edition is a treasure for anyone to have on their bookshelf.
This volume contains three of Cain's most well-known novels ("The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Double Indemnity," and "Mildred Pierce)" as well as some of his short stories. It is beautifully bound and makes even the most broken-down old bookshelf look good.
The stories themselves are classics from one of the founding fathers of film noir and hard-boiled stories.
Even if you have no intention of reading these stories, I would still suggest you buy this book just to make your bookshelf look better, but mark my words, one day, you will have nothing to do or read and you will pick up this greatness and you will become hooked the same way many James M. Cain fans have, by reading the first chapter of "The Postman Always Rings Twice."
To have his biggest-and-best works all in one volume and to have them put into an Everyman's Library edition is a treasure for anyone to have on their bookshelf.
This volume contains three of Cain's most well-known novels ("The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Double Indemnity," and "Mildred Pierce)" as well as some of his short stories. It is beautifully bound and makes even the most broken-down old bookshelf look good.
The stories themselves are classics from one of the founding fathers of film noir and hard-boiled stories.
Even if you have no intention of reading these stories, I would still suggest you buy this book just to make your bookshelf look better, but mark my words, one day, you will have nothing to do or read and you will pick up this greatness and you will become hooked the same way many James M. Cain fans have, by reading the first chapter of "The Postman Always Rings Twice."
July 5, 2019
3.5 stars. I skipped the introductions, as they are for people studying the writer. I was only interested in the stories and didn't want to read any spoilers.
The first two stories, The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity were okay murder stories.
The third one, Mildred Pierce, is gut wrenching. The Great Depression was devastating. Mildred works so hard but she's surrounded by people who feel they are too good to work. And her daughter, Veda, is probably psychopath, she's so cold, calculating, and snobby. I kept taking breaks reading this when it was clear Mildred was again going to make a bad decision trying to please the users in her life. This story will stay with you.
Pastorale is another murder story, very short and nothing special. The Baby in the Icebox was different. An attempted murder but nothing like in the other stories. Nice change. Dead Man is a very short story about a hobo who kills a cop. Brush Fire is another really short story with an accidental homicide. The Girl in the Storm is another hobo short story, this one without a murder.
The first two stories, The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity were okay murder stories.
The third one, Mildred Pierce, is gut wrenching. The Great Depression was devastating. Mildred works so hard but she's surrounded by people who feel they are too good to work. And her daughter, Veda, is probably psychopath, she's so cold, calculating, and snobby. I kept taking breaks reading this when it was clear Mildred was again going to make a bad decision trying to please the users in her life. This story will stay with you.
Pastorale is another murder story, very short and nothing special. The Baby in the Icebox was different. An attempted murder but nothing like in the other stories. Nice change. Dead Man is a very short story about a hobo who kills a cop. Brush Fire is another really short story with an accidental homicide. The Girl in the Storm is another hobo short story, this one without a murder.
July 25, 2021
The Postman Always Rings Twice is a little too hard-boiled. It is narrated by the main character, Frank, and he's not at all an empathetic character. The plot twists are interesting. This one I read for historical interest. Only saw the old black and white movie with John Garfield and Lana Turner. Ms Turner was beautiful, but not at all the dark-haired/olive skinned Cora. Film Noir!
Double Indemnity was far more interesting. Many more plot twists than I remember from the old Barbara Stanwyck/Fred MacMurray/Edward G Robinson movie. Five stars to this one.
Mildred Pierce is slow to start. It rambles more. Not as tight a plot as the other novellas and short stories. Plot just meanders too much. Mildred is not criminal. She simply does what men would do in her position, and successfully. Her devotion to Veda is baffling. She seems so practical, but in this, out of character. Anyway, this was the one I felt I had to keep plowing thru, rather than really enjoyed.
The Baby in the Ice Box was a clever short story. Liked it. Thumbs up.
Overall, I think this book is worth reading. You could skip Mildred Pierce and not miss much.
Double Indemnity was far more interesting. Many more plot twists than I remember from the old Barbara Stanwyck/Fred MacMurray/Edward G Robinson movie. Five stars to this one.
Mildred Pierce is slow to start. It rambles more. Not as tight a plot as the other novellas and short stories. Plot just meanders too much. Mildred is not criminal. She simply does what men would do in her position, and successfully. Her devotion to Veda is baffling. She seems so practical, but in this, out of character. Anyway, this was the one I felt I had to keep plowing thru, rather than really enjoyed.
The Baby in the Ice Box was a clever short story. Liked it. Thumbs up.
Overall, I think this book is worth reading. You could skip Mildred Pierce and not miss much.
October 2, 2023
I only read The Postman Always Rings Twice, as I felt it was enough of a preview of the other books and novelettes. Apparently this story caused a legal case due to being too lewd. Which was not the reason I read it.
It is a short and easy read, mainly because there is no backstory, character development, plot development, or even an plot arc. Which makes it hard to relate or sympathize with the characters. For people who come across as very casual about murder, it is also hard to sympathize with their ultimate fates.
And there was no postman or doorbell in the story anywhere! :)
It is a short and easy read, mainly because there is no backstory, character development, plot development, or even an plot arc. Which makes it hard to relate or sympathize with the characters. For people who come across as very casual about murder, it is also hard to sympathize with their ultimate fates.
And there was no postman or doorbell in the story anywhere! :)
February 8, 2017
Mildred Pierce: I liked this, even though it's what I'd class as a "pot boiler" (melodramatic). I think Mildred was pretty deluded about Veda, and so, about a lot of things in her life.
Double Indemnity is quite different. Love Walter Huff's character voice - very unsentimental, dry kind of narration. It reminds me a little of the William Holden character in Sunset Boulevard. I love the movie; for me, the movie reproduces the tone of this short story quite accurately.
Double Indemnity is quite different. Love Walter Huff's character voice - very unsentimental, dry kind of narration. It reminds me a little of the William Holden character in Sunset Boulevard. I love the movie; for me, the movie reproduces the tone of this short story quite accurately.
November 26, 2017
This is a Review for The Postman Always Rings Twice (read in this collected edition).
This book is particularly interesting and much deserving of its place in the lexicon of noir/crime fiction, while at the same time being an obvious early novel of a great master. The plot is tight, while the writing, at times, is lacking in finesse and clarity. Cain appears to be feeling his way around long form fiction, which he does become a master of.
More after I finish Double Indemnity.
This book is particularly interesting and much deserving of its place in the lexicon of noir/crime fiction, while at the same time being an obvious early novel of a great master. The plot is tight, while the writing, at times, is lacking in finesse and clarity. Cain appears to be feeling his way around long form fiction, which he does become a master of.
More after I finish Double Indemnity.
November 15, 2018
I bought this book for a mere song at Strand Books in NY, and what a find it turned out to be! Mr. Cain stands tall next to the great names of his age, Steinbeck, Hemingway, and in noir, Chandler. I preferred Double Indemnity, but all the stories are outstanding. His writing is precise and concise, so the stories are generally not long. All of them plays out in California in the time between WW1 and -2, the era of the Great Depression.
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