Scan barcode
tellsbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Oh the drama! Let me tell you something — criminals are always going to stick together.. and they will always do you in, because they are morally bankrupt!
I’ve seen this movie a few times. I don’t know exactly what spurned me to read the book… maybe I was scrolling through TCM, or it was on some list somewhere, but either way, this book caught me in its web.
Premise is simple: po’dunk white girl takes up with well-to-do Greek man because she wants to live a life better than the shit one that she was living. She trades her “beauty” for financial security, even if that security means boredom and being expected to engage in a form of housewifery that she’s not sure she can commit to.
What Becks doesn’t expect is to meet another po’down white man and “fall in love”… y’all know that sis is married tho, and so yes — that’s a problem. What do lady danger and her new drifter beau decide to do??? Knock off the Greek so they can be together - with his money - of course!
Alas, nothing goes to plan. The Greek does get knocked off, but there are holes upon holes in the event. Finally, when these two maniacs start to look at each other properly… they realize they don’t know each other.. they can’t trust each other.. at least not beyond what they can thrust each other.. and they may be up the creek with no paddle! Down the creek??? Whatever.
I love the way this is written. It was thrilling. Morality was bargained over, love was examined, picked apart, put aside, and then picked up again. When you thought things couldn’t get any worse - they absolutely did. Side bitches abound.
Real talks, this entire book is actually a cautionary tale of ain’t shit side pieces causing mayhem. It’s also a jailhouse meditation on the price at which love might be bought and sold for.
I enjoyed the book, just like I enjoyed the film. The location of the story also played an important role. The 1930s California backdrop was something. The hillsides, the cliffsides, the ocean and the beach — all of those elements played a role and added to the atmosphere of the story.
I can see how this book influenced Albert Camus’ The Stranger. It’s palpably selfish, there’s folly that is impulsive and repugnant, the only thing that most of the characters can agree on is crime. Love is always on the brink of collapse. Men in both novels push the women to sacrifice for the unknown, the women pay in the end. You don’t know what’s real and what’s not. The writing was goodt!
I’ve seen this movie a few times. I don’t know exactly what spurned me to read the book… maybe I was scrolling through TCM, or it was on some list somewhere, but either way, this book caught me in its web.
Premise is simple: po’dunk white girl takes up with well-to-do Greek man because she wants to live a life better than the shit one that she was living. She trades her “beauty” for financial security, even if that security means boredom and being expected to engage in a form of housewifery that she’s not sure she can commit to.
What Becks doesn’t expect is to meet another po’down white man and “fall in love”… y’all know that sis is married tho, and so yes — that’s a problem. What do lady danger and her new drifter beau decide to do??? Knock off the Greek so they can be together - with his money - of course!
Alas, nothing goes to plan. The Greek does get knocked off, but there are holes upon holes in the event. Finally, when these two maniacs start to look at each other properly… they realize they don’t know each other.. they can’t trust each other.. at least not beyond what they can thrust each other.. and they may be up the creek with no paddle! Down the creek??? Whatever.
I love the way this is written. It was thrilling. Morality was bargained over, love was examined, picked apart, put aside, and then picked up again. When you thought things couldn’t get any worse - they absolutely did. Side bitches abound.
Real talks, this entire book is actually a cautionary tale of ain’t shit side pieces causing mayhem. It’s also a jailhouse meditation on the price at which love might be bought and sold for.
I enjoyed the book, just like I enjoyed the film. The location of the story also played an important role. The 1930s California backdrop was something. The hillsides, the cliffsides, the ocean and the beach — all of those elements played a role and added to the atmosphere of the story.
I can see how this book influenced Albert Camus’ The Stranger. It’s palpably selfish, there’s folly that is impulsive and repugnant, the only thing that most of the characters can agree on is crime. Love is always on the brink of collapse. Men in both novels push the women to sacrifice for the unknown, the women pay in the end. You don’t know what’s real and what’s not. The writing was goodt!
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
samkc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
zxcvbnmackie's review against another edition
4.0
A brilliant short novel. A love story fuelled with violence and sprinkled with a sense of desperation. Vagabond Frank finds himself in a diner and is taken in by Nick and Cora. His passionate lust for Cora is the core incentive for the whirlwind of events that take place in this story.
A magnificently underrated gem from James M. Cain. I can see why this made an impression on Camus and how this influence was wielded within his own novel called "The Outsider"(or if you're American, "The Stranger"). - A great reading recommendation if you find yourself enthralled by Cain's book.
A magnificently underrated gem from James M. Cain. I can see why this made an impression on Camus and how this influence was wielded within his own novel called "The Outsider"(or if you're American, "The Stranger"). - A great reading recommendation if you find yourself enthralled by Cain's book.
booksnbubbly7's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
rbixby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love me some really good noir. This is really good noir. But I will say, man, Cain's view of human nature is dark, Dark, DARK.
But his writing is tight. I love it.
But his writing is tight. I love it.
notorious_mjt's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to an audiobook version of this narrated by Stanley Tucci. It was awesome, highly recommend
yasaminyaldaei's review against another edition
4.0
سبک، خوشخوان، درگیرکننده و جذاب بود. کاملا میشد وارد فضای قرن بیستی.، جنایی و نوآر داستان شد و در کنارش از شخصیتپردازی و ذهنیات و طرز فکر اول شخص لذت برد.