Rating: 
Summary: Another Favorite By James M. Cain
Review: This novel was another stunner from Cain. Set out in a then country area of California, outside of LA in the early 1940s, most of the action takes place at a diner on the main highway. This too involves a wife very unhappy with her husband, Cora with Nick. She finds a possible way out of her life with this brutish husband when drifter Frank comes into the diner and hangs around doing odd jobs for them. The couple plot to kill Nick so that they can end up with the diner and each other. There was one movie version done by John Garfield and Lana Turner in the 1940s that was absolutely faithful to the book. There was a 2nd version in the 1980s with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange that deviated somewhat from the novel, especially towards the end. I enjoyed both film versions equally and would highly recommend them. A Cain novel is very hard to put down once you've started and the man used no excess words. He too was an expert at looking at the best and worst of people as brought out by crime and its punishment.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of Despair
Review: This slim novel was first publishedin 1934, it felt timeless to me and was finished in one sitting without pause. The lead characters Frank and Cora are bleak and cold, totally lacking in redeeming qualities. What makes the book so gripping to me is that the style of the writing, the sparse use of words and it's coldness exactly matches them.The content is not suitable for young children and at one time Cain faced prosecution for this publication. Today as the world has changed Postman would not have had the same impact in those terms, but as a literary work I think it is still stunning. The plot is the murder of a small time diner owner by his wife and her drifter lover who comes to work for them and the destruction of what affection they had for each other through their own amoral natures. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Full of Despair
Review: This slim novel was first publishedin 1934, it felt timeless to me and was finished in one sitting without pause. The lead characters Frank and Cora are bleak and cold, totally lacking in redeeming qualities. What makes the book so gripping to me is that the style of the writing, the sparse use of words and it's coldness exactly matches them. The content is not suitable for young children and at one time Cain faced prosecution for this publication. Today as the world has changed Postman would not have had the same impact in those terms, but as a literary work I think it is still stunning. The plot is the murder of a small time diner owner by his wife and her drifter lover who comes to work for them and the destruction of what affection they had for each other through their own amoral natures. Excellent!
Rating:
Summary: Solid example of noir suspense
Review: Though I rate this book at four stars, make no mistake about it, this is a fine book. Tightly written and carrying no tedious padding, this is a perfect weekend book. Cain describes the settings and physical descriptions of the people with exquisite flair, and his dialogue is wondrous to read. While I praise the brevity of the novel, it's low word-count is the only reason I did not award "The Postman" five stars. I feel a five-star book should not be something that can be read so quickly. From the opening paragraph, I was hooked. Cain wastes no time introducing his characters and setting the table for a raucous reading experience. When the story came to an end, I knew I had discovered a master craftsman, for his book left me with that most elusive of reading experiences: I wanted more, a lot more, but I knew the story ended where it had to. Great stuff! I can't believe this was his first published novel. I'm definitely going to hunt down more of his work.
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