The Postman Always Rings Twice (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard)

I first saw the movie based on this book from 1946 starring James Garfield and Lana Turner. The acting, haunting soundtrack and noir feel hooked me- not to mention the best part, the story itself.This novel is not long at 100+ pages. But my goodness, it is more than worth it. I read the whole thing in one day and I have since read it again. Another great advantage is that it takes up little room on a book shelf. It may not spend much time there, though as you will want to read it again after you finish.The story in itself is simple. A drifter wanders into a hamburger joint in 1930's Los Angeles. The drifter meets the Greek manager, gets a job and then sees the owner's much younger wife. Of course, all is down hill from there. Boy meets girl, girl has old husband with money but doesn't love him, girl leaves husband for boy...or better yet, boy and girl plan to kill husband.The prose is simple but powerful. Frank and Cora fall into a love that is anything but cookie cutter or romantic. This is not a tale for the feint of heart, but if you like originality, this book is still as unique today as it was 80 years ago. It also epitomizes Cain's most favorite theme- A man CAN get away with murder, but he cannot LIVE with it.This is such a treat for any crime fiction lover. I loved reading it and might actually pick it back up tonight. It is well worth the money.

Many years ago I saw the 1982 movie version of this book (The Postman always rings twice by James M. Cain) starring Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lang and I decided to read this classic 116 page short novel.The book follows the same theme as the movie version. The writer’s style in classic crime story reminds me a little bit of Mickey Spillane’s writing style and his hard boiled detective Mike Hammer series; however, the principle characters in this quick read are ruthless, unethical and with no conscious. An unemployed drifter comes into a California gas station/diner run by a beautiful woman and her husband, who she clearly does not love, and in a short time the drifter and woman are attracted to each other sexually. These characters are not very complex, but are intriguing as they give in to their lust and then plan to murder her husband so they can be together.I never reveal too much information when reviewing any novel; however, this book has been classified by some experts as one of the best 100 novels ever written. I do not know if I agree with that evaluation having read 100s of novels in my life time, but I did find this book to be a good crime story read. Personally, I will always prefer a good late Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer crime novel any day.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (The Mighty Pen: Your self-defense friend, Tactical use of the pen for self-defense).

Very tightly and neatly written story about some cold-hearted people trying to get away with murder. I didn’t love the book, but the characters were depicted realistically and the noir vibe was perfect.

This book is a riveting classic of duplicity, love found, lost, and then found again, even eighty years after its first publication date. It has moments of gut wrenching suspense interspersed with examples of heartless cruelty, and innocent, young, sweet love. The writing is taut, sufficiently descriptive and perhaps most surprisingly, the story is still relevant today.The best laid plans of mice and men can be lain flat by the simplest of things and early in the book, a cat of all things spoils the party for our two duplicitous love birds.i find it hard to believe that two people who can be so cruel and heartless can ever amount to anything and if fate or karma has a say in the way things turn out for any of us in this world, then young Cora and the tramp Frank Chambers don't gave much to look forward to. And they won't get any sympathy from me.This book is a classic of the genre. Those with any interest in crime, suspense, noir, or even the odd love story should get something from reading this delightful work of literature. Full marks for this one.BFN Greggorio!

This is an enjoyable, relatively short, novel. As is the case with most short novels, probably by necessity in a short novel, character development is kept to a minimum. The novel is also a time piece. The traffic and roads in the area around Los Angeles described here are very different from today. I have found this novel on at least one list of the supposed "100 greatest novels". That, of course, is completely a matter of taste. However to me, I am quite certain I have read 100 novels better than this.By coincidence, I had just finished a Mickey Spillane novel, and I find the writing by James M. Cain to be of a much more developed and sophisticated nature. I think if one studies the biographies of these two authors, one can correlate the comparative writing styles to their backgrounds.Another interesting comparison (At least to me!) can be made between a short novel like this and a longer novel such as The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow. In both novels, there is a side story wherein the protagonist embarks on a somewhat bizarre misadventure to Mexico with an unusual female. If one wishes, one may note the differences in length, detail and style of these two interludes.There is some allusions to what I might refer to as "rough sex" that surprised me. I cannot recall seeing that in American popular novels composed prior to this work. I do not know if this novel is considered "ground breaking" on that front or not. It did catch me by surprise.As with the case of many American novels of this time period, there is quite a bit of negative ethnic references. There are negative allusions to people of Greek heritage and some negative terminology about Italian Americans. As I stated above this is common in American novels of this period. I only mention it in case it matters to a potential reader unfamiliar with this work or this literary period.

Fantástica novela. No me gusta, por lo general la novela negra, pero este autor y esta novela en concreto son fabulosos. Muy recomendable.

Tremendous novel / ebook. As per Chandler and Hammett when they were in 'the zone', Cain firing on all cylinders was one hell of a read. Two people on the first page of reviews here mention the 1981 movie version. I'm not a fan of that at all, the '46 take, starring James Garfield and Lana Turner being The One. No spoilers. Enjoy !

A perfect example of a short novel, hits hard, stays in your mind long after you're done reading, because it makes you think about the age-old question: what is right, and what is wrong?

ばれたらやばい、捕まったらやばい、裏切られてはやばい……　緊張に弱い自分は「早く不安から開放してくれ！！！」と一気読み不可避でした。題名がまた、内容に対し素直でなくて、素敵やん。楽しい読書でした。

The heroes in this story feel real and close. One can peak into their thoughts and emotions. They are criminals, yes, but one can not avoid liking them.