Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain

10 reviews

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence and Blood

noonjinx's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A quick read but a great one. It was written nearly a century ago but rattles along like a modern thriller. The dialogue is terrific and the prose is wonderfully bare and straightforward. It’s a noir tale of sex, murder, betrayal, love, redemption, tragedy and justice. The main characters are thoroughly weak and immoral but I ended up rooting for them.

Spoiler

They come tantalisingly close to a happy ending before it is torn away from them.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder

cepbreed's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow. I know now why they hail Cain as one of the authors of the early 1900s that was so ahead of his time.  This book reads like it was written yesterday, the action, the mystery, the eroticism all satisfy my 21st century brain which is something I didn’t think I’d ever find in a book nearing its 90th anniversary. This book is unapologetic it’s it’s graphic depictions of violence and sex, and the two as twisted sisters. I now want them to readapt this into film again. The book reads like a movie, as my professor put it there are 3 shots Cain sets up that keeps you engaged just like you would be if you were watching the action unfold in front of you. This book is perverted, but in a good way!

Songs:

• Off to the Races - Lana Del Rey  
• Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Blood, Car accident, Death, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, and Sexism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Gun violence

greeneyed_ives's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Murder, Violence, and Car accident

Minor: Racial slurs

poirot's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Murder, Death, Car accident, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/injury detail and Toxic relationship

Minor: Animal death

readbykatherine's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, Gun violence, and Death

lauradanby's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.0

I found the style of writing a bit hard to get into as there is a lot of telling and little showing which at times makes it hard to wander the world of the plot. It gets into the main events very quickly and there is very little time spent on developing character. There are some interesting twists and the pace and suspense ramps up greatly for the second half of the book. An interesting ending which also gives insight to the style of writing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Murder

exlibrissum's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Miscarriage

breereads_'s review against another edition

2.0

this book is not about a postman but i wish that is was

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism

areadingstan's review

dark mysterious 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? Yes

1.0

Easiest 1 star I’ve ever given to be honest. I had this book on my shelf because it was on one of my university modules (though I’d never read it properly). From the start it was just offensive in many ways, clearly a product of its time, but I found myself really uncomfortable when reading it. It was also really unrealistic for a crime novel, though I guess it didn’t have a cliched ending. If you like classic crime and the ‘femme fatale’ character you might enjoy it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Violence