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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I forgot how much I enjoy James Cain. It will be interesting to see the new movie they are doing on Showtime with Kate Winslet. I wonder if it will be more like the book or the movie with Joan Crawford.
Wow. An unflinching novel, one that distills disparate social observations (on motherhood and the corrupting influence of cash) into one complex thought, difficult for me to articulate out of context. Beyond thematic concerns, however — and there’s plenty to “unpack” here, as bloggers like to say — Mildred Pierce is simply a marvelously drawn character, written with authenticity and dimension. Cain’s prose is predictably crisp and energetic, and he has a tremendous eye for what to leave out of the picture, always to great effect. I couldn’t put this one down, man. It’s grim, but oh so real.
I read this as I prefer to read the book before watching a film adaptation, but I'm not sure I want to view the adaptations now. The characters were hard to like - admire, perhaps, but not like. I'm still not sure if Mildred's numbness was entirely the character, or Cain's use of their person narrative combined with a weakness in writing the emotions of a woman. On th other hand, it was nice to read a book where bad things happened and the characters deal with it, rather than spending pages and pages on Oh Woe is Me.
I watched the HBO series and liked it a lot so I decided to read the book. I found the book follows the miniseries nearly exactly. The writing style was a bit old timey, but still good. If you have watched the HBO series no need to read the book.
I wish I liked Mildred more than I actually did. I found it difficult to carry on reading as a result. I am glad I made it to the end.
A good story ruined by a terrible portrayal of women.
great reading.....my only problem was Cain's fascination with detailing the cost of everything. I had to resist the urge to add up income and expenses and see if the book balanced in the end! lol!