Karin Montin wrote:
>
>No racism in Cain? The slurs against Mexicans and the
Greek café ¯wner
>(husband) bothered me when I read the book a few
years ago. Cora is
>insistent that she's not a "Mex," that she's white,
and the Greek is called
>greasy over and over.
>....
>In my humble opinion, The Postman Always Rings Twice
is vastly overrated.
>Cain, unlike Agatha Christie, was a two-hit wonder. I
know he wrote more
>but everyone thinks immediately of Postman and Double
Indemnity. I think
>the movies based on those two Cain novels were better
than the books.
>
My thoughts: While the 1940s movies based on Cain's books
certainly increase his profile, I think his best books still
stand on their own. POSTMAN and DOUBLE INDEMNITY are
excellent, but I reckon his best novel is THE BUTTERFLY,
which is a perfect example of a lean, taut noir story. Also,
SERENADE is a good novel, although its views on homosexuality
would be seen as reactionary by today's standards. This is
the dilemma that you'll find if you enjoy older books and
movies - although many of them are still great, you're likely
to find ideas that are now outdated. I always try to remember
the context that the book was written in, and the prevailing
beliefs of the time. It doesn't make those beliefs correct or
justified, but it does allow you to read older books without
unrealistic expectations. I wonder how many books published
in 2005 might have sections that will be found offensive 50
years from now, when today they are accepted as
ordinary?
Paul
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 14 Nov 2005 EST