Rating: 
Summary: Remarkable
Review: A remarkable story of human relationships, complexities, perseverance, and weakness!All too often people turn a blind eye to what they refuse to believe, or perhaps can't comprehend - and we see this played out in the interactions of Mildred and her daughter Veda! This adds to the reader's involvement and emotional responses to this stunning and well told novel. A powerful piece of writing!
Rating:
Summary: I finished this book in less than 24 hours
Review: I don't know quite where to start when writing a review of this book. Even though I had seen the movie and so knew more or less how the story would unfold (or thought I did), I still couldn't put the book down. The Washington Post said that "James M. Cain is the poet of the hard-boiled school of the American novel," and that compliment is well deserved. I was immediately drawn into the story and stayed completely absorbed until the last page. As others have mentioned, the book is much darker than the movie, and more complex as well. I went back and read the last chapter over a few times just to savor the ending again. The first time it was so startling that I couldn't quite believe what I had read. This is just one example of the power of Cain's writing. It's simply remarkable.
Rating:
Summary: Focus On Mother-Daughter Instead of Man-Woman
Review: I never met a James M. Cain novel I didn't like and this one was no exception. The title is of the lead character who rises to great success during the Depression with a series of restaurants in early California. However, she has one big problem: the daughter she raised alone, Veda. Veda becomes a singer and also a master at deceiving and betraying her mother. Veda does not even consider her mother's spouse, her stepfather, off limits. This showcases the same intense Cain focus on a twisted relationship but this time it is on the mother-daughter relationship, arguably a more powerful one than the lover-lover one. This was made into a movie starring Joan Crawford, who won an Oscar playing Mildred. I thought this film version went too over the top though and veered into being maudlin and soap operaish. Stick with Cain's novel, the far more complex work.
Rating:
Summary: Focus On Mother-Daughter Instead of Man-Woman
Review: I never met a James M. Cain novel I didn't like and this one was no exception. The title is of the lead character who rises to great success during the Depression with a series of restaurants in early California. However, she has one big problem: the daughter she raised alone, Veda. Veda becomes a singer and also a master at deceiving and betraying her mother. Veda does not even consider her mother's spouse, her stepfather, off limits. This showcases the same intense Cain focus on a twisted relationship but this time it is on the mother-daughter relationship, arguably a more powerful one than the lover-lover one. This was made into a movie starring Joan Crawford, who won an Oscar playing Mildred. I thought this film version went too over the top though and veered into being maudlin and soap operaish. Stick with Cain's novel, the far more complex work.
Rating:
Summary: Not like the movie
Review: I re-read this novel after recently seeing the movie again. I remembered that Cain's novel felt darker and dingier than the movie, but I had forgotten how different the novel was.
Mildred Pierce was filmed at a time when Hollywood still needed to punish evil. James M Cain knew that evil frequently fares quite well in the world.
The movie is a lot of fun all on its own, but don't confuse it with the much more complex novel.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant portrait of domestic evil
Review: If you think that rotten, ungrateful children began in the 90's (or ended with King Lear's daughters), meet Vida Pierce, Mildred's daughter, an amoral young thing with a talent for singing and a disdain for anything low. Watch as Vida climbs to the top of the radio singing world and seduces her stepfather. Excellent character study, and source for the great film which gave Joan Crawford her Oscar®
Rating: 
Summary: Tough-minded Mildred runs out of steam
Review: It's inevitable that most readers should go into this book with the excellent film version starring Joan Crawford in their minds. However, the two are quite different beasts, which is a credit to the strength and originality of both. This is not a crime novel as the film implied, but a tough Depression era story of a woman determined to get by in a world of snobbery and class prejudices that even she herself cannot deny that she holds. When she becomes a single mother, Mildred is ashamed to have to take on a job as a waitress to keep her children in the relatively wealthy lifestyle to which they are accustomed. With nothing more than determination, she becomes the mistress of a restaurant empire and a wealthy businesswoman. But none of this is enough to endear her to her spitfire daughter Veda, whom she both dislikes and passionately admires. It comes as a surprise that the Mildred of Cain's novel is more a Veronica Lake than a Crawford, a short-skirted coquette who uses her physical as well as mental assets to achieve what she needs. More complex is Mildred's relationship with Veda, and the character of Veda herself, a swaggering, overbearing, thoroughly nasty piece of work. If you thought Ann Blyth's Veda was unlikeable, meet this one! It's even more clear here that Mildred's motherly love has turned into unhealthy obsession. Unlike the film, the monster that is Veda is never really exorcised here. It's the ending of the book which lets the rest down. The final quarter seems hasty - it smacks of an author who is getting a little tired of his characters and has run out of hoops for them to jump through. And while the book closes on a bleak sort of denouement, no real sense of conclusion or capitulation is gained. It should be noted that the ending is considerably different to that of the film, which, to my mind, ended things in a more satisfying matter - which admittedly had a classic crime story structure to its advantage. Nevertheless, Cain's plain-spoken, tough-minded style and his talents as a storyteller make this a worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: A noir without crime?
Review: James M. Cain is one of the fathers of the noir novel (along with Hammet and Chandler) with novels as "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Double Indemnity" that were soon turned into films and became cornerstones of the noir cinema, as it did the cinematographic version of Mildred Pierce.
Mildred Pierce is not, however, a noir novel strictu senso. There is no detective, and if there is any crime it is not particularly remarkable, the characters don't take a walk in the wild side or through the asphalt jungle. The plot tells the story of Mildred, a still young woman trying to make ends meet after divorcing his former middle class husband, now unemployed due to the Depression. In her quest for a future (from proud wife to diner waitress to fast-food entrepreneur) she has to deal with her pride, her pretentious and viperous daughter, her decadent playboy lover and the close social categories of the 30's.
For some it could be an elaborated melodrama, but Mildred Pierce reads like a noir. The wisecrack-saturated dialogues are those of a hardboiled crime novels, as are the social schemas. Finally, Cain discovers settings that latter became classics of the Californian and American noir imaginary: the diners, the first fast food chains, and the posh restaurants by the sea.
Mildred Pierce is a great book and a portrait of a time. Go for it. I have it in a very nice edition by Everyman's Library featuring also "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Double Indemnity" and a few short stories and the lot is definitely worth the (quite low) price.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: James M. Cain's reputation as a master of the noir genre rests largely on his phenomenally grim 1934 story "The Postman Always Rings Twice," 1935's "Double Indemnity," and this 1941 classic "Mildred Pierce." No other noir writer's reputation-whether Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, or Cornell Woolrich-rests on only two or three stories. How is it possible to sustain a literary legacy based on two, maybe three stories that you could read in three single sittings? Think movies. You can thank Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler for Cain's enduring legacy. These two guys collaborated on the script for "Double Indemnity" the film, a film that has since become one of the classics of American cinema. And don't forget Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her work in the screen version of "Mildred Pierce." Too, if memory serves correctly, there are two film versions of "The Postman Always Rings Twice," one of them starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. If I were a writer, I wouldn't be too enthusiastic that my legacy rested on film versions of my stories. From what I've read of the noir masters, Cain isn't nearly as good of a storyteller as Chandler, Hammett, or Woolrich. He isn't as good as Jim Thompson or David Goodis either, for that matter. He's still good, though.
Fortunately, although it isn't as noir as "Double Indemnity" or "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Mildred Pierce" is a wonderful story embodying several key elements of the noir genre. The novel is the story of Mildred Pierce, a young, leggy housewife and mother in California trying to make the best of a bad situation during the Great Depression. Like millions of other Americans during those trying times, Mildred's financial situation falters when her husband Bert's unemployment threatens to cost the family their home. Since Bert is also cheating on his wife, Mildred eventually forces her man to permanently leave. This situation leaves our heroine caring for her two children, Veda and Moira, without a source of income. Thanks to a helpful neighbor mixed up in bootlegging, a Mrs. Gessler, Mildred obtains enough support until she finally lands employment as a waitress at a Los Angeles hash house. Pierce is a tough lady, full of pride and ideals about what a woman should do in life, but economic uncertainty forces her to make tough choices. Her no nonsense attitude, along with her abilities as a fine cook, soon allows the woman to build a small restaurant/pie shop. A few more years of hard work finds Mildred with three restaurants and a bursting bank account in a time when people still stand in bread lines. She's a success story.
Cain is not content to allow his readers to bask in the glow of Mildred's success. As tough of a woman as she is, as careful about business as she is, Mildred Pierce has two problems that threaten to permanently destroy her life. The first problem is Veda, Pierce's eldest daughter. This girl is your archetypical snob, a young lady so enamored of the finer things in life that she will stop at nothing to obtain social position and wealth. Mildred recognizes her daughter's failings, but insists on doting on her while showering the girl with expensive gifts. Despite all the attentions she receives, Veda loathes her mother. She considers the idea of Mildred working in a restaurant unconscionable, and constantly works behind the scenes to heap scorn upon her mother. The second problem involves men. Mildred Pierce cannot seem to find a good man, as she soon discovers after hooking up with a somewhat wealthy loafer and snob named Monty Beragon. It isn't too long before Veda and Monty hit it off to the everlasting detriment of Mildred. Although both depend on Pierce for money, they can't stand her seemingly lowly status and plebian manners. You can rest assured that events will soon reach a frightful denouement, one loaded with shattering emotional conflicts that wreck lives and destroy relationships.
"Mildred Pierce," in my opinion, is even better than Cain's noir novellas "Double Indemnity" and "The Postman Always Rings Twice." You won't find a crime like murder anywhere in the story, nothing requiring a crafty cover up or the presence of law enforcement officials. The book instead focuses on the unhealthy relationship between a mother and a daughter both proud and spoiled in their own ways. In many ways, this destructive relationship is worse than the illicit affairs of the protagonists in the previously mentioned two books: Mildred and Veda hurt each other innumerable times, and go on hurting each other until the bitter end whereas Cain's other memorable characters quickly reach a point of no return. There is no end to the emotional suffering of the characters in this story, although despite what other readers have thought the conclusion does hold out a glimmer of hope that Mildred will overcome her weaknesses and rebuild her shattered life.
Don't worry about the lack of a juicy crime, though, since other aspects of the story intrigue immensely. Mildred Pierce as a character is quite wonderful; you simply can't help but like the lady despite her flaws. Conversely, Veda as drawn by Cain is one of the great evil characters of literature. You'll gape at her soulless machinations, wondering how she gets away with such despicable behaviors and fervently hoping for a serious comeuppance. Too, it's nice to get a look at pre-World War II California, an atmosphere that Cain makes excellent use of throughout the story. I recommend heartily that all beginning Cain fans read "Mildred Pierce" alongside his two other masterworks. Sadly, it seems many of his readers tend to overlook this non-noir noir classic. I'm glad I didn't.
Rating:
Summary: a mother's love is blind..
Review: Mildred Pierce is one of those 'tough as nails, heart of gold' mothers who should an inspiration to all women. She kicks out her dead-beat husband, works her tail off to keep food on the table and her daughters happy, and has the guts/brains to start her own successful business. So what's wrong (and why did James M. Cain bother to write about her)? Unable to face reality, Mildred is the victim of her own blindness to her rotten eldest daughter's ways. Not only is her daughter unappreciative, she actually ridicules her mother as being some uncouth and ignorant embarassment. Mildred's toughness melts when confronting her monster daughter, much to her detriment. While a heartbreaking story overall, the ending is especially moving ... have your hankies ready. Perhaps many folks reading this review has seen the famous film adaption (starring Joan Crawford) of Mildred Pierce. While the film generally carries the intent of James M. Cain's written word, there are several differences. Obviously Hollywood wanted to over-dramatize, or simply invent scenes. As much as I like the movie I enjoyed the book more; I found it to be more personal , intense and believable. Bottom line: required reading by all mothers, strongly recommended to everyone else.
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