Customer Reviews (1)

Saucy and Sexy in The Time of The American Civil War
The last time I have had a chance to mention the work of James M. Cain in this space was a review of his classic noir films The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity, a couple of films that take place in the 1930-40's in sunny California. As usual when I get `high' on an author I like to run through most of his or her work to see where he or she is going with it. Thus, this review of a lesser work by Cain is something of an introduction to themes that he likes to give a work out in his literary efforts.

And what are those themes? Well, sex, steamy or otherwise, thwarted love, consummated love that will end badly and frankly, greed. Nothing new to add in Mignon, except that Cain does this with a use of language and sense of plot that is well above average for those who try these combinations. With Mignon moreover he addresses his familiar themes but backdates his place to the New Orleans and his time to that of the American Civil War period. While some of his plot twist and turns are interesting the overall effect is that this is a very ordinary tale of betrayed love, frustration and financial fiasco that has been done much better when he sticks to California in the 1930-40's. Yes, that is the real James M. Cain. That is the one that belongs in the second tier of the American literary pantheon. Stay tune for more.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Some of the best noir shorts
Cain is justly famous for his three classic novels (Postman, Pierce, and Indemnity), but deserves more praise than he usually gets as a short story writer. These tales feature much of what makes his longer works excellent: sharp psychological portraits, lust and revenge hovering over all, a vivid sense of 1930s Southern California, and an endlessly wry narrator's take on everything. But these stories pare it all to the bone, and in most cases that makes Cain's taut, sinewy prose even more concise.

The brief intros by Hoopes are interesting and a nice addition, but I'd recommend reading the stories first, then trying the intros to avoid any spoilers.

The highlight among these tales, Baby packs a lot of wallop into a very few pages. The characters emerge quickly and distinctly and the cat subplot dovetails perfectly and provides a satisfying conclusion. There is always a sense of justice in Cain's works, and here it's particularly pleasant.

Joy Ride and Embezzler are two other fine works in this collection, but each of the stories is worth reading. They might not all be perfect, but they're all pure Cain, and that's as good as this genre ever got, Hammett and Chandler included.

Raising Cain
I have reviewed James M. Cain's two major works The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity elsewhere in this space. He is justly famous for those little literary potboilers. Not as well known, although they should be, are his short stories that are of the same caliber with the same kind of plot exploration and with quirkily little endings, a la O. Henry. The definitive example of this little collection is the title work-Baby In The Icebox. Here we have the inevitable California male drifter of indeterminate morals, the adulterous housewife of vague if intense longings, the seemingly inevitable symbolically meaningful wild cats that populate many of Cain's works and the intense, almost too intense, sexual stirrings that make the term potboiler very apt. The other stories follow with their own little twists. And hovering just below the surface is a literary examination of class, race and sex in 1930's America that seldom gets this kind of inspection not matter what period we are in. These will keep you glued to the page, read them. ... Read more

Product Description
Word count: 4432. ... Read more

Product Description
Crime follows love triangle and plot toget rid of husband. By author of The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Mildred Pierce. ... Read more

Product Description
Classic Fast paced thriller of a love triangle turned into an explosive and tense novel by James Cain. Duke Webster, a fight trainer is turned over to Val Valenty on parole. Duke falls in love with Val's wife, Holly, who is sick and frightened of Val. Val sees Holly turn into a healthy woman again and with vengeance plots their removal. Classic thriller of a bizarre triangle by the famous author James Cain. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A love story with a diet
Unusual enough, this story is only there to help James M Cain to keep on writing stories about forbidden, doomed but also extremely sensual passion that leads to murder. It's a fun and a quick read. Not as good as his masterpieces but if you like the guy, this one is a good one. ... Read more

Product Description
In these never-before-published interviews, the author of Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Mildred Piercediscusses his first notions to be a writer, his newspaper days, his Hollywood years, and Marilyn Monroe with brutal honesty and in a tone and vernacular that only a master like Cain could command. Also in this critical, tell-it-like-it-is study, Cain reveals his thoughts on Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Arthur Miller, Hammett, Chandler, and, in his eighty-fifth year, what he planned for his future.Packed and Loaded is James M. Cain "unplugged", at his finest. The manuscript is seasoned with original epigraphs about this major American writer from masters like Elmore Leonard, Sue Grafton, Robert B. Parker, Dennis Lehane, Peter Lovesey, Phil Lovesey, Edward D. Hoch, Katherine Hall Page, Robin Moore, William G. Tapply, and the grand master of mystery himself, Rex Stout.

John McAleer graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in English Literature and was the author of over a dozen books, including an Edgar Award-winning biography of Rex Stout. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Emerson. He wrote critically-acclaimed studies of Thoreau and Dreiser, as well as a definitive novel on the Korean War, Unit Pride.

... Read more