The Book Nook: "The Postman Always Rings Twice" (James M. Cain)

When I'm not working, I'm doing the whole self isolating thing. That gives me a lot of time to do stuff- reading, writing, watching movies, listening to music, drinking craft beers, etc.

Which is why I'm starting a new feature called, "The Book Nook"- where I explore the various books in my personal library.

I recently did a review of "The Shadow Laughs" from the pulp novel era. Once I'd finished, I sat down and read a book many consider a "modern classic of American literature"... James M. Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice".

Frank is a drifter who wanders into a roadside diner... and into Cora's life. The passion that develops between them introduces them both to possibilities they never realized existed...

Including the possibility of the perfect murder...

The plot is fairly simple and straight forward- but was fresh, startling, and even scandalous in 1934 when it was published. So much so that it was banned in Boston. The sexuality and violence, combined with the tone, flow, and underlying irony at the end cements this book firmly in the noir genre that was rising in popularity at the time. I loved the noir tone, though the dialog will seem really quite dated and "primitive" by today's standards. The sexuality and the violence that was shocking back when it came out would also seem pretty tame when put along side a show about a woman that possibly fed her husband to a tiger...

The characters are pretty typical of the noir genre- in both description, dialog, and action. While I was emotionally engaged for the most part, I also couldn't help but see them for the genre stereotypes they were. While interesting, very few characters within the noir/crime genre of the 1930's were all that deep or complex. This can make it hard as a modern reader to fully get into the story and characters.

While students of the noir/crime novel genre, or students of American literature may find "The Postman Always Rings Twice" a fascinating glimpse into the writing style of the 1930's- which it actually is from a purely academic standpoint... I don't think most readers of my generation (Gen-X in case you're wondering) would really find it interesting.

It was suitable for sitting and sipping a beer... or sitting on the toilet waiting for that beer to come out. I'm going to have put it in "The Ugly".

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