The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain

Book 48
I forget why I picked up The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James M. Cain, but I was sold by the combination of “Lana Turner film” and “banned in Boston” proclaimed on the back cover.  This was the summary:

An amoral young drifter.  A beautiful, sullen woman,  An inconvenient husband. And a problem that has only one, grisly solution – a solution which creates problems which can never be solved…”

This was a good read in that the tension builds and then subsides and then builds even bigger again.  My problem, as usual, is that none of the characters are particularly sympathetic.  I didn’t have anyone to root for.  Cain did a great job is writing the “should I turn on her/did she turn on me” aspect.   There is some interesting commentary on human nature.  There is a difference between lust and love.  A difference between love and trust.  And if you are going to plan a murder with someone, you’d damn well better trust her.

OK, that last part was just me. 

Cain packed an awful lot into a short novel.  I’d read him again.

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