First published in 1934, The Postman Always Rings Twice caused a scandal with its explosive mix of violence and sex, and immediately became a bestseller. The torrid story of Frank Chambers, the amoral drifter, Cora, the sullen and brooding wife, and Nick Papadakis, the amiable but inconvenient husband, has become a classic of its kind, and established Cain as a major novelist with a spare and vital prose style and a bleak vision of America.

James M. Cain was born in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1892. Having served in the US Army in World War 1, he became a journalist in Baltimore and New York in the 1920's. He later worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Cain died in 1977

2008-05-10 Disturbing

Some books are just straight disturbing - this is one of them.

I initially thought it was only a tacky thrill getter - bit of sex, bit of violence and a `tough talking dude' - but once I broke through that (and it did take some breaking through) I realized this is quite a well written book.

It is about violence - it is about alienation - it is about deprivation and emotional screw-up: It is about justice and the perverseness of morality.

That is a pretty strong cocktail, and the language, of necessity, is harsh, unforgiving and downright brutal at points.

So too the plot - with an economy to be admired, there is an attempted murder, a successful murder and an accident resulting in another kind of murder ... all in the space of around 120 pages.

Women get slapped around - and like it: Men get beaten-up - and don't. It is the `film-noire' world beloved of the gangster genre. But this is not a gangster book.

The chief character is a drifter - he bums around America - scratching a living here, stealing there, spending short periods in jail before moving on.

He drifts into a situation where his animal driven lusts and craftiness allow access to what I am tempted to say is a perfect partner for him. There is the problem of her husband - and their attempt to remove him forms the spine of the story.

But, `As flies to wanton boys ... `

The God's agents are the forces of law and order - who are playing a game with lesser mortals. Any sense of justice or basic human decency is soon swept away once we encounter the petty motives fuelling both defence and prosecution.

I have to admit, I am reminded of Tess, of Lear and Heathcliffe ... pretty strong company for a pot-boiler to evoke.