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mickeymole's review against another edition
4.0
You can call this pulp if you want to, but I assure you, it's much more than that. Although I wouldn't call it great literature, it still has plenty of literary merit. After my first Cain novel, [b:The Postman Always Rings Twice|25807|The Postman Always Rings Twice|James M. Cain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1344265267l/25807._SY75_.jpg|808562] which I hated, I'm not sure why I picked up this one, but I'm glad I did. The characterization and believable dialogue, totally absent in "Postman", is superb here. Even though it slowed in the Operatic sections, it still held my interest because Cain's passion for the music transferred to me. The church scene was original and awesome. I'd read it again just for that.
rebus's review
4.75
Naturally, the woke generation will only see this novel in terms of what they view as sexist and racist language (failing, as they always do, to realize that this novel is an accurate depiction of the times and NOT the views of the author).
What it actually is is a brilliant dissection of both Mexican (the corrupt petty officials and death penalty for things like slapping a cop) and American (sexual repression) societies in the late 30s, the class distinctions and distortions, the petty differences between men, an expose of Hollywood corruption--already completely corrupt in 1937 according to the central character, one example of the view of the author coming through one of his characters, with references to the Hays Office and Mann Act and how they both fascistically propagandized society to a false morality--and a thrilling novel of crime in the inimitable Cain fashion.
It also explores matters of love and sex--how a chill goes through you along with a million thoughts when a girl finally says yes--in a way the modern novel always fails to do, touches on topics concerning high Art and idealism, and leaves us with the secret that true beauty always has some terror in it. There is also a fairly deep exploration of class, illustrated through the main character's interaction with his Mexican lover, but also inherent in comments about how the only thing an Irishman hates more than the landlord is another Irishman. It also features slang like hooked up, slow roll, shade, and crib that wouldn't become part of the modern idiom for another half century.
It's not quite the masterpiece of his more famous works, but it's awfully close and not as weird as the dullards who have reviewed it seem to think. It's just real.
What it actually is is a brilliant dissection of both Mexican (the corrupt petty officials and death penalty for things like slapping a cop) and American (sexual repression) societies in the late 30s, the class distinctions and distortions, the petty differences between men, an expose of Hollywood corruption--already completely corrupt in 1937 according to the central character, one example of the view of the author coming through one of his characters, with references to the Hays Office and Mann Act and how they both fascistically propagandized society to a false morality--and a thrilling novel of crime in the inimitable Cain fashion.
It also explores matters of love and sex--how a chill goes through you along with a million thoughts when a girl finally says yes--in a way the modern novel always fails to do, touches on topics concerning high Art and idealism, and leaves us with the secret that true beauty always has some terror in it. There is also a fairly deep exploration of class, illustrated through the main character's interaction with his Mexican lover, but also inherent in comments about how the only thing an Irishman hates more than the landlord is another Irishman. It also features slang like hooked up, slow roll, shade, and crib that wouldn't become part of the modern idiom for another half century.
It's not quite the masterpiece of his more famous works, but it's awfully close and not as weird as the dullards who have reviewed it seem to think. It's just real.
krissiborikova's review against another edition
4.0
Да бъда честна, началото беше на път да ме накара да изоставя книгата, но, о, въобще не можех да си представя какво ще последва. „Серенада“ не е най-добрата мистерия, която съм чела и дори бих казала, че мистериозното в нея куцаше и с двата крака, но самата история беше изключително впечатляваща. Това, което обичам в старите книги от този жанр е способността на автора да вмъкне култура и да обогати познанията на читателя като същевременно изгражда интригуваща история и то по толкова естествен начин, че да не загубиш интерес към четивото. Въпреки че развръзката беше доста предсказуема, един момент от книгата ме шокира напълно и това беше появата на хомосексуален герой. Всичко, което се разкри и случи покрай него, беше напълно неочаквано и може би точно то е причината да подобря мнението си за романа.
barrypierce's review against another edition
4.0
This is a real hidden gem. I probably wouldn't have even come across this work if it weren't in my bind-up of Cain's novels. The story is of a haggard opera singer who gets with an Indian prostitute in Mexico. They decide to try and make it back to America where our protagonist makes it big with his wonderful operatic talent. However, his past catches up with him and things turn, well, hardboiled.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short novel. It might possibly be my favourite of Cain's works. It's wonderfully paced with highly memorable characters and numerous conversations about opera from Carmen to Pagliacci to the protagonist's utter disdain for Rossini. I highly recommend this novel to those who are new to the hardboiled genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed this short novel. It might possibly be my favourite of Cain's works. It's wonderfully paced with highly memorable characters and numerous conversations about opera from Carmen to Pagliacci to the protagonist's utter disdain for Rossini. I highly recommend this novel to those who are new to the hardboiled genre.
screamdogreads's review
3.0
Before I started this novel, I had never read anything by Cain, and honestly I probably would have bypassed his work entirely if it wasn't for a recommendation from a bookseller. Going into this I only had a tiny idea of what it was about, and it sounded fantastic, which it mostly was...
Where this novel excels is in being a gritty and tragic noir story. The writing is utterly wonderful, it's tight, tense, and helps to draw a real sense of panic out of a rather slow paced story. The whole time reading this novel, I was waiting for the inevitable, and yet, as I was hurtling towards the clash I know was inescapable, I held on to a tiny sliver of hope, that maybe, things would work out.
However, I think that the excessive use of opera terms took away from the story for me, maybe if I was more musically inclined, I would have enjoyed this far more. It's worth noting that this is a novel that was first published in the 1930s, and as such, it contains a rather heavy use of slurs, and some very questionable viewpoints. While this may not bother some, it's worth being aware of these things when viewing it from a modern lens.
Where this novel excels is in being a gritty and tragic noir story. The writing is utterly wonderful, it's tight, tense, and helps to draw a real sense of panic out of a rather slow paced story. The whole time reading this novel, I was waiting for the inevitable, and yet, as I was hurtling towards the clash I know was inescapable, I held on to a tiny sliver of hope, that maybe, things would work out.
However, I think that the excessive use of opera terms took away from the story for me, maybe if I was more musically inclined, I would have enjoyed this far more. It's worth noting that this is a novel that was first published in the 1930s, and as such, it contains a rather heavy use of slurs, and some very questionable viewpoints. While this may not bother some, it's worth being aware of these things when viewing it from a modern lens.
sistermagpie's review
3.0
One of the craziest books I've ever read. So crazy it deserves a spoilery synopsis. Spoilers to follow:
Johnny is a down and out American singer in Mexico. Once he was a success in Europe, but he lost his voice and now he's broke. Also he's really bigoted. It's good to be prepared for that instead of hit in the face with his racist description of his love interest, Juana, on the very first page. Juana's a prostitute he steals from a bullfighter, but when he gets to her place and sings to her a bit, she suddenly says he should go.
A few weeks later, though, she asks if he wants a job working in the whorehouse she's planning to start in Acapulco and they set off together. After ditching her parents rudely, they get caught in a rainstorm and take refuge in a church. She describes his singing voice as being like a priest's, which he doesn't appreciate. Then he rapes her (but "only technically, brother," because she totally wants it), and after that they're in love. Even better, his voice comes back!
They go back to America where he starts his career again. He goes into the movies--Swain includes truly hilarious synopsis of fake Hollywood B-movies built around stock footage. His two hits "Woolies" (sheep in the snow) and "Paul Bunyan" (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade) make him a big star. He even pressures the studio into a pricey contract for 3 pictures. Then the Met calls and wants him to perform opera and he'd rather do that, but the head of the studio tells him opera's finished, see, and he doesn't want him performing. So he takes Juana to New York and performs anyway. He hated Hollywood, especially after he takes Juana to a party and everyone is rude to her (i.e., even more racist than he is!).
This gets him into hot water with his contract, not to mention the radio show that planned a whole ad campaign with him based on the Paul Bunyan "My Pal Babe" number. Enter an old aquaintance, a wealthy producer our hero worked with in Europe before he lost his voice. "Worked with?" Hmmmm...maybe more than that.
Winston, it turns out, kind of owns the studio and is behind a lot of Johnny's troubles. He fixes the contract problem but insists Johnny sing in a big gala he's throwing. Johnny's nervous about performing--what if Juana figures out what's really going on? You might think he was safe since every other one of Juana's lines is "I no understand," but she tumbles to the whole thing right away. Juana might not be able to figure out how to wear a hat or how contracts work how remember it's cold in New York in the winter, but she knows when two men are former lovers.
Remember when Johnny first went to Juana's place and sang for her and she sent him home? It was because she could hear the gay in his voice. Gay men can't sing. Their voices aren't manly. They sing like priests. Or cows. That's why she sent him away. But she did think he'd make a good bouncer at her whorehouse and that's why she contacted him again. Then he raped her and that was very manly and she liked it a lot! (Yes, she actually says this.) So she thought she was wrong. But now Winston is here and he's already losing his voice again. Gay men can't sing! (This must be why Broadway is struggling.)
Not that Johnny is gay, he explains. Every man has 5% of gay in him, and Johnny was just unlucky enough to meet the one guy in the whole world that would bring it out in him. Juana devotes herself to keeping Johnny straight. Winston moves into their building and has gay parties and tries to make Johnny jealous. He invites them to a party while secretly arranging to have Juana deported so he can have Johnny for himself! But they find out about the plan. Juana entertains all the lesbians who act like men and gay men who act like sissies at the party with bullfighting stories and does a mock bullfight with Winston where he's the bull. Then she spears him through the head adn sticks him to the couch. Ole! That's what Johnny wants to cry. She's killed the gay in him! Despite being Mexican and Native American, Juana is awesome!
Now they have to flee. Johnny insists on going with Juana. He struggles with not being able to sing anymore for fear of someone recognizing him. (He even has a brief moment of gay panic when he wonders if he's too admiring of a baseball player--don't worry, Winston took Johnny's shameful gay to the grave with him.) Eventually Juana goes back to Mexico and hooks back up with the bullfighter. He chases her. The bullfighter mocks him for being a fairy, he gets mad and sings in his manly voice (proving he is totally not gay!), he gets recognized and Juana gets killed.
Did I lie? Craziest book ever.
Johnny is a down and out American singer in Mexico. Once he was a success in Europe, but he lost his voice and now he's broke. Also he's really bigoted. It's good to be prepared for that instead of hit in the face with his racist description of his love interest, Juana, on the very first page. Juana's a prostitute he steals from a bullfighter, but when he gets to her place and sings to her a bit, she suddenly says he should go.
A few weeks later, though, she asks if he wants a job working in the whorehouse she's planning to start in Acapulco and they set off together. After ditching her parents rudely, they get caught in a rainstorm and take refuge in a church. She describes his singing voice as being like a priest's, which he doesn't appreciate. Then he rapes her (but "only technically, brother," because she totally wants it), and after that they're in love. Even better, his voice comes back!
They go back to America where he starts his career again. He goes into the movies--Swain includes truly hilarious synopsis of fake Hollywood B-movies built around stock footage. His two hits "Woolies" (sheep in the snow) and "Paul Bunyan" (Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade) make him a big star. He even pressures the studio into a pricey contract for 3 pictures. Then the Met calls and wants him to perform opera and he'd rather do that, but the head of the studio tells him opera's finished, see, and he doesn't want him performing. So he takes Juana to New York and performs anyway. He hated Hollywood, especially after he takes Juana to a party and everyone is rude to her (i.e., even more racist than he is!).
This gets him into hot water with his contract, not to mention the radio show that planned a whole ad campaign with him based on the Paul Bunyan "My Pal Babe" number. Enter an old aquaintance, a wealthy producer our hero worked with in Europe before he lost his voice. "Worked with?" Hmmmm...maybe more than that.
Winston, it turns out, kind of owns the studio and is behind a lot of Johnny's troubles. He fixes the contract problem but insists Johnny sing in a big gala he's throwing. Johnny's nervous about performing--what if Juana figures out what's really going on? You might think he was safe since every other one of Juana's lines is "I no understand," but she tumbles to the whole thing right away. Juana might not be able to figure out how to wear a hat or how contracts work how remember it's cold in New York in the winter, but she knows when two men are former lovers.
Remember when Johnny first went to Juana's place and sang for her and she sent him home? It was because she could hear the gay in his voice. Gay men can't sing. Their voices aren't manly. They sing like priests. Or cows. That's why she sent him away. But she did think he'd make a good bouncer at her whorehouse and that's why she contacted him again. Then he raped her and that was very manly and she liked it a lot! (Yes, she actually says this.) So she thought she was wrong. But now Winston is here and he's already losing his voice again. Gay men can't sing! (This must be why Broadway is struggling.)
Not that Johnny is gay, he explains. Every man has 5% of gay in him, and Johnny was just unlucky enough to meet the one guy in the whole world that would bring it out in him. Juana devotes herself to keeping Johnny straight. Winston moves into their building and has gay parties and tries to make Johnny jealous. He invites them to a party while secretly arranging to have Juana deported so he can have Johnny for himself! But they find out about the plan. Juana entertains all the lesbians who act like men and gay men who act like sissies at the party with bullfighting stories and does a mock bullfight with Winston where he's the bull. Then she spears him through the head adn sticks him to the couch. Ole! That's what Johnny wants to cry. She's killed the gay in him! Despite being Mexican and Native American, Juana is awesome!
Now they have to flee. Johnny insists on going with Juana. He struggles with not being able to sing anymore for fear of someone recognizing him. (He even has a brief moment of gay panic when he wonders if he's too admiring of a baseball player--don't worry, Winston took Johnny's shameful gay to the grave with him.) Eventually Juana goes back to Mexico and hooks back up with the bullfighter. He chases her. The bullfighter mocks him for being a fairy, he gets mad and sings in his manly voice (proving he is totally not gay!), he gets recognized and Juana gets killed.
Did I lie? Craziest book ever.
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