mimaovde's review against another edition
its just so gross for some reason
like why am i reading about two people (who just met) f*cking and biting each other's lips and whatever the f*ck
it just gave off creepy old man writes a fanfiction for himself
also, why is being latina apparently equal to a war crime in this book
like why am i reading about two people (who just met) f*cking and biting each other's lips and whatever the f*ck
it just gave off creepy old man writes a fanfiction for himself
also, why is being latina apparently equal to a war crime in this book
definitely_not_hitler's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
latas's review against another edition
5.0
A story about a messed up couple, and a messy murder. It is short and highly entertaining.
I was intrigued by the title and found this interesting information. McCain had named this debut novel as 'BAR - B-Q'.
His publisher, Alfred A. Knopf didn't like it. A lot of titles were thrown about, none of which the author liked.
“There is only one rule I know on a title,” Cain would later blare. “It must sound like the author and not like some sure-fire product of the title factory.”
Then during one of the brain storming sessions with his fellow playright Vincent Lawrence mentioned that when he was stuck at his house, nervously awaiting correspondence from producers, that he’d noticed that the postman, when he finally arrived, always rang…twice.
Cain hasd found his title, but the publisher rejected it. The author was adamant.
This debut author was telling him – the founder of one of New York’s most prestigious publishing houses – to scrap his title for something this bizarre? “I don’t think THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE anything like as good a title as FOR LOVE OR MONEY and I hope you will agree. For one thing, it’s awfully long.”
Finally the publisher relented and... The rest is history.
The title is a metaphor for the delayed justice served to the murderers in the end.
I was intrigued by the title and found this interesting information. McCain had named this debut novel as 'BAR - B-Q'.
His publisher, Alfred A. Knopf didn't like it. A lot of titles were thrown about, none of which the author liked.
“There is only one rule I know on a title,” Cain would later blare. “It must sound like the author and not like some sure-fire product of the title factory.”
Then during one of the brain storming sessions with his fellow playright Vincent Lawrence mentioned that when he was stuck at his house, nervously awaiting correspondence from producers, that he’d noticed that the postman, when he finally arrived, always rang…twice.
Cain hasd found his title, but the publisher rejected it. The author was adamant.
This debut author was telling him – the founder of one of New York’s most prestigious publishing houses – to scrap his title for something this bizarre? “I don’t think THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE anything like as good a title as FOR LOVE OR MONEY and I hope you will agree. For one thing, it’s awfully long.”
Finally the publisher relented and... The rest is history.
The title is a metaphor for the delayed justice served to the murderers in the end.
adamz24's review against another edition
4.0
I don't really want to like James M. Cain. His work is real ugly and cynical, even for hardboiled crime fiction, and feels, often, less like it is dealing with things like racism and misogyny and more like indulging such attitudes. But The Postman Always Rings Twice, though it lacks almost entirely the charming bruised romanticism of Raymond Chandler or the sheerly brutal artistry of later hardboiled writers like Jim Thompson, is one hell of a book. This is literary work of the highest order, without the veneer that kept so many writers from really engaging with the more base of human emotions. This is not perfect work, but it is viscerally engaging and emotionally involving in ways that a lot of more 'perfect' works are not. The two major flaws are sometimes wooden dialogue, never a problem for Hammett, Chandler, or many of their contemporaries or successors, and an ending that, to me, rings emotionally hollow. Pros: evocative settings, great pulpy plot that is very well-told, good characters, and enough mystery and kinky sex to get you past the literary flaws, and to the point from which you can understand why this is ballsy, important, and sophisticated literature.
marco_izner's review against another edition
4.0
[forse mi sono perso il postino...]
Da "Il postino suona sempre sempre due volte" sono stati tratti almeno due o tre film, di cui uno è "Ossessione" di Visconti.
Ecco: io questi film non li ho mai visti perché aspettavo di leggere il libro; e alla fine, dopo anni di procrastinazioni, ce l'ho fatta.
Non che ci sia voluto troppo: è alto quanto mezza unghia, e in un giorno uno se lo porta a casa; e anche grazie ai capitoli brevi, congegnati in modo tale da invogliarti sempre e comunque a proseguire nella lettura.
E in effetti il meccanismo narrativo funziona: semplice e ben congegnato come si confà al genere.
La storia, poi, si presta a molteplici interpretazioni e riflessioni, senza esser solo intrattenimento fine a se stesso; e non ci sarebbe nulla di male, in realtà: solo che qui si parla di pena di morte, di giustizia, di violenza, di amore vissuto all'ombra del male e della violenza stessa, della propensione al male dell'essere umano, con accenni di "perturbante" (vedi: racconto fantastico ottocentesco à la Hoffman, ma anche Poe, ad esempio) che però non sfocia mai nel sovrannaturale.
Sembrano cose banali, ma senz'altro non lo erano nell'America degli anni Trenta, qui raccontanta in una dimensione più prossima alla Grande depressione, dove l'American Dream va a farsi benedire.
La vicenda dei due amanti, poi, mi ha ricordato molto "Therese Raquin" di Zola, nel quale ritornava anche, per ovvi motivi, l'elemento perturbante: quando ancora il naturalismo zoliano lasciava più spazio al romanzesco. E mi sembra strano non aver mai letto altrove di questa analogia, ma di sicuro mi sarò distratto io.
Ultima cosa: la traduzione italiana, che per fortuna fa trasparire abbastanza bene lo stile crudo e asciutto di James M. Cain, sarebbe comunque un po' da rivedere. Alcune scelte le ho trovate abbastanza opinabili, altre incomprensibili, e una sta proprio nella frase finale.
Chi è in possesso del libro vada pure a controllare.
Da "Il postino suona sempre sempre due volte" sono stati tratti almeno due o tre film, di cui uno è "Ossessione" di Visconti.
Ecco: io questi film non li ho mai visti perché aspettavo di leggere il libro; e alla fine, dopo anni di procrastinazioni, ce l'ho fatta.
Non che ci sia voluto troppo: è alto quanto mezza unghia, e in un giorno uno se lo porta a casa; e anche grazie ai capitoli brevi, congegnati in modo tale da invogliarti sempre e comunque a proseguire nella lettura.
E in effetti il meccanismo narrativo funziona: semplice e ben congegnato come si confà al genere.
La storia, poi, si presta a molteplici interpretazioni e riflessioni, senza esser solo intrattenimento fine a se stesso; e non ci sarebbe nulla di male, in realtà: solo che qui si parla di pena di morte, di giustizia, di violenza, di amore vissuto all'ombra del male e della violenza stessa, della propensione al male dell'essere umano, con accenni di "perturbante" (vedi: racconto fantastico ottocentesco à la Hoffman, ma anche Poe, ad esempio) che però non sfocia mai nel sovrannaturale.
Sembrano cose banali, ma senz'altro non lo erano nell'America degli anni Trenta, qui raccontanta in una dimensione più prossima alla Grande depressione, dove l'American Dream va a farsi benedire.
La vicenda dei due amanti, poi, mi ha ricordato molto "Therese Raquin" di Zola, nel quale ritornava anche, per ovvi motivi, l'elemento perturbante: quando ancora il naturalismo zoliano lasciava più spazio al romanzesco. E mi sembra strano non aver mai letto altrove di questa analogia, ma di sicuro mi sarò distratto io.
Ultima cosa: la traduzione italiana, che per fortuna fa trasparire abbastanza bene lo stile crudo e asciutto di James M. Cain, sarebbe comunque un po' da rivedere. Alcune scelte le ho trovate abbastanza opinabili, altre incomprensibili, e una sta proprio nella frase finale.
Chi è in possesso del libro vada pure a controllare.
meowrilena's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Violence and Blood
ashleygallaher's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
fictionfan's review against another edition
4.0
Sex and death...
Frank Chambers is a bum who drifts from place to place, making a living out of gambling and petty cons. One day he finds himself at a garage outside Los Angeles without funds or a ride. He cons a meal out of the owner, a Greek by the name of Nick Papadikis. Nick’s looking for help around the place, so offers Frank a job. Frank’s about to refuse when he catches sight of Nick’s wife, Cora, a luscious brunette who oozes sensuality...
Now Frank has a reason to stick around, and it’s not long before the lip-mashing commences. And soon Frank and Cora feel that two’s company.
My initial reaction to this novella was a feeling of disgust. Frank’s objectification and sexualised descriptions of Cora made me faintly nauseous, and their joint racism about Greeks and “Mex” and anyone else who might not be whiter than white didn’t help much. But then as I got to know Cora better I discovered she was just as revolting as Frank, so I acquitted Cain of misogyny and racism, and convicted him of misanthropy instead. And, oddly, once I reached that point, I found the book much easier to get along with.
There’s no doubt it’s compellingly written in the true noir style. Reading it is a little like being held up on the motorway because there’s been a crash just ahead – you know you shouldn’t stare but you can’t help yourself. As a study of two amoral, self-obsessed monsters drawn to each other through lust, it’s brilliantly done. I’d call it a glamorisation of sado-masochism, except that it’s way too sordid to be glamorous. When our lovely heroes aren’t indulging in some vicious sex that seems to involve lots of bruising and blood – but it’s OK ‘cos Cora likes being hurt – then Frank’s beating people senseless.
And yet, oddly, despite their vicious callousness, they are two of the most incompetent murderers I’ve come across. Of course, that’s partly the point – it’s when the police and lawyers become involved that the story reaches its real moral dilemma – under pressure, will their love/lust for one another be enough to hold them together? When you know the bad, bad things your lover has done, can you ever trust him/her? Can you be sure that when he/she says he/she loves you that he/she really does and wasn’t just using you? And once the excitement of murder is over, how do you feel about the dullness of everyday life – does the passion last when you no longer have to sneak around and hide, when there’s nothing left to plot? This second half of the book is far more interesting than the sex-saturated first half – to me, at any rate.
I don’t know how to rate it really. It’s undoubtedly superbly done so I admire it for that. I’m not the greatest fan of pure noir so haven’t read extensively in the genre, but the little I have read has usually given me one good guy to root for amid the gritty darkness, and a femme fatale who may behave badly but is morally ambiguous. This one gives two people with no redeeming features whatsoever, so that I could only hope things would end badly for them. Again, that’s the point, so it succeeds in its aim. I found it well written, psychologically convincing, and it creates a truly noir world in which everything is soiled and corrupt and no gleam of light beckons. But it left me feeling I needed to scrub my mind out with a Brillo pad. I’ve settled on four stars – compelling rather than enjoyable, but I can understand why it’s considered a classic.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Frank Chambers is a bum who drifts from place to place, making a living out of gambling and petty cons. One day he finds himself at a garage outside Los Angeles without funds or a ride. He cons a meal out of the owner, a Greek by the name of Nick Papadikis. Nick’s looking for help around the place, so offers Frank a job. Frank’s about to refuse when he catches sight of Nick’s wife, Cora, a luscious brunette who oozes sensuality...
Then I saw her. She had been out back, in the kitchen, but she came in to gather up my dishes. Except for the shape, she really wasn't any raving beauty, but she had a sulky look to her, and her lips stuck out in a way that made me want to mash them in for her.
Now Frank has a reason to stick around, and it’s not long before the lip-mashing commences. And soon Frank and Cora feel that two’s company.
My initial reaction to this novella was a feeling of disgust. Frank’s objectification and sexualised descriptions of Cora made me faintly nauseous, and their joint racism about Greeks and “Mex” and anyone else who might not be whiter than white didn’t help much. But then as I got to know Cora better I discovered she was just as revolting as Frank, so I acquitted Cain of misogyny and racism, and convicted him of misanthropy instead. And, oddly, once I reached that point, I found the book much easier to get along with.
There’s no doubt it’s compellingly written in the true noir style. Reading it is a little like being held up on the motorway because there’s been a crash just ahead – you know you shouldn’t stare but you can’t help yourself. As a study of two amoral, self-obsessed monsters drawn to each other through lust, it’s brilliantly done. I’d call it a glamorisation of sado-masochism, except that it’s way too sordid to be glamorous. When our lovely heroes aren’t indulging in some vicious sex that seems to involve lots of bruising and blood – but it’s OK ‘cos Cora likes being hurt – then Frank’s beating people senseless.
And yet, oddly, despite their vicious callousness, they are two of the most incompetent murderers I’ve come across. Of course, that’s partly the point – it’s when the police and lawyers become involved that the story reaches its real moral dilemma – under pressure, will their love/lust for one another be enough to hold them together? When you know the bad, bad things your lover has done, can you ever trust him/her? Can you be sure that when he/she says he/she loves you that he/she really does and wasn’t just using you? And once the excitement of murder is over, how do you feel about the dullness of everyday life – does the passion last when you no longer have to sneak around and hide, when there’s nothing left to plot? This second half of the book is far more interesting than the sex-saturated first half – to me, at any rate.
I don’t know how to rate it really. It’s undoubtedly superbly done so I admire it for that. I’m not the greatest fan of pure noir so haven’t read extensively in the genre, but the little I have read has usually given me one good guy to root for amid the gritty darkness, and a femme fatale who may behave badly but is morally ambiguous. This one gives two people with no redeeming features whatsoever, so that I could only hope things would end badly for them. Again, that’s the point, so it succeeds in its aim. I found it well written, psychologically convincing, and it creates a truly noir world in which everything is soiled and corrupt and no gleam of light beckons. But it left me feeling I needed to scrub my mind out with a Brillo pad. I’ve settled on four stars – compelling rather than enjoyable, but I can understand why it’s considered a classic.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
likecymbeline's review against another edition
4.0
One of the readings for my Film & Literature class, this noir novel has a way of getting into your head. Granted, I really should be talking about the effect of The Gaze and oscillation of identity alongside gender ambiguity and "hipster" rebellion, but what I say makes this a good noir novel is the fact that after reading it, I felt pretty criminal myself.