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jazzy_daveJames M. Cain "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Orion)
A dangerous young drifter named Frank Chambers stops for a bite to eat at a California roadside lunchroom owned by an affable but naive Greek named Nick Papadakis and his much younger, beautiful wife Cora. Frank accepts a job offer from Nick and almost immediately begins an affair with Cora, who confides to Frank that Nick disgusts her and she feels trapped in her marriage. She suggests that the only way out is to kill Nick, and Frank, who really doesn't have anything personal against his new boss, decides to go along with it.
After a false start, Frank and Cora finally manage to carry out their crime, although not without a significant amount of bodily sacrifice. Of course they tell the police that Nick's death was an accident, but the District Attorney is suspicious of the circumstances -- particularly when it is discovered that Nick had a considerable insurance policy on his life. From this point on, Cain uses the principle of poetic justice to ensure that Frank and Cora pay for their crime through their arrogance and foolishness.
Frank, Cora, and Nick make an interesting love triangle. Situations in their lives seem to have brought them together partially because of their relative stupidity -- for a guy who's spent his life on the road, Frank shows he even lacks street smarts when he gets suckered by an obvious pool shark; indeed, a story like this relies on fundamentally stupid characters. Nick, of course, never suspects his wife is having an affair; he's just a simple immigrant who's proud and grateful to be living the American dream of owning his own business. The smartest character turns out to be Cora's lawyer, Katz, who probably guesses the truth about Nick's "accident" right away but knows he'll make out like a bandit no matter what happens to his client.
The characterisation, mood, and style of this novel reveal the source of noir fiction: When the corruption and violence of the '20s erupted into the squalor and desperation of the Depression of the '30s, noir must have emerged naturally as the time's most representative artistic expression. Here we have characters who are so poor and hopeless that they're desperate enough to do anything and violent enough to turn to crime.
Tine to re watch the movie.
A dangerous young drifter named Frank Chambers stops for a bite to eat at a California roadside lunchroom owned by an affable but naive Greek named Nick Papadakis and his much younger, beautiful wife Cora. Frank accepts a job offer from Nick and almost immediately begins an affair with Cora, who confides to Frank that Nick disgusts her and she feels trapped in her marriage. She suggests that the only way out is to kill Nick, and Frank, who really doesn't have anything personal against his new boss, decides to go along with it.
After a false start, Frank and Cora finally manage to carry out their crime, although not without a significant amount of bodily sacrifice. Of course they tell the police that Nick's death was an accident, but the District Attorney is suspicious of the circumstances -- particularly when it is discovered that Nick had a considerable insurance policy on his life. From this point on, Cain uses the principle of poetic justice to ensure that Frank and Cora pay for their crime through their arrogance and foolishness.
Frank, Cora, and Nick make an interesting love triangle. Situations in their lives seem to have brought them together partially because of their relative stupidity -- for a guy who's spent his life on the road, Frank shows he even lacks street smarts when he gets suckered by an obvious pool shark; indeed, a story like this relies on fundamentally stupid characters. Nick, of course, never suspects his wife is having an affair; he's just a simple immigrant who's proud and grateful to be living the American dream of owning his own business. The smartest character turns out to be Cora's lawyer, Katz, who probably guesses the truth about Nick's "accident" right away but knows he'll make out like a bandit no matter what happens to his client.
The characterisation, mood, and style of this novel reveal the source of noir fiction: When the corruption and violence of the '20s erupted into the squalor and desperation of the Depression of the '30s, noir must have emerged naturally as the time's most representative artistic expression. Here we have characters who are so poor and hopeless that they're desperate enough to do anything and violent enough to turn to crime.
Tine to re watch the movie.
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