Scan barcode
A review by labunnywtf
Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain
3.0
Watched the Joan Crawford version, then a few years ago, the miniseries with Kate Winslet. A part of me knew there was a book, but didn't really pay attention, so color me shocked when I was going through my bookshelves last month and realized I owned it.
I have no idea where I got it from, and it looks to have been printed in 1946. The spine is cracked, and the dust jacket is gone, but it's in really good shape.
Hopefully I enjoy it.
----
Children make you do crazy things. Especially teenagers. Crazy things like fling them through closed windows. Though I have yet to do so, the day will come. Oh, how the day will come. But also, you love them so much, and you want the best for them. You're willing to overlook faults and make sacrifices to ensure their well being, and their happiness. They're your children, and you love them more than anything.
So, a part of me REALLY understands why Mildred puts up with what she does. I get it. She's your kid. She's the goddamn cunt of Satan himself, but she's yours.
All of that being said, I hated her a lot through this book. I didn't hate her when watching the original movie, or the miniseries. And starting out the book, I was really into how strong she was. She kicks out her philandering lay about husband, yet maintains a decent relationship with him for her children (CHILDREN, MILDRED. TWO OF 'EM), and even manages to double cross him to get her much needed car.
Fuck yeah, Mildred Pierce!!
I also texted the best friend, who is a professional cake decorator, the description of the gorgeous cake she makes at the beginning of the book, and asked her to tell me how much the cost would be for it, keeping in mind the book was set in the 30's.
"Uh, back then? $40?"
She about fell over when I told her three dollars. And that of that three dollars, only a small portion was going to buy good lamb chops for dinner. That's 99% of the fun of reading these books is seeing the prices of things then.
I was irked by her Veda-esque high falutin' ways when it came to getting a job. I was proud of her for turning down the awful servant job, but when it came to her holier than thou routine regarding being a waitress, I was just annoyed. I get it, because the idea of losing my job and going to work for McDonald's makes my lunch want to revisit me, but I'm not actually supporting the teenager I want to put through a closed window.
You got two kids, Mildred. (THAT'S TWO, MILDRED. TWO KIDS. COUNT 'EM.) Put on the uniform and suck it the fuck up.
But she does it, and she gets good. And I adored everything involving opening up her restaurant. I was even thrilled reading the descriptions of her opening her chains, after we'd well and good gotten into the parts where I started to despise her.
Here's the problem. She's a strong woman. She's a strong woman who opens her own restaurant, and leaves early to run off with a man she barely knows. She's spontaneous and having fun because life is about to start.
And then she turns into the biggest damn wet blanket needy clingy doormat of a woman. Every time she bit her tongue when Monty mocked her, openly and loudly, I'm like, "What? What? What? Where is the woman who kicked her husband out of the house when she barely had two dimes to rub together?!"
THEN, for fuck's sake, she starts giving him money! Constantly! On top of that, she's mad at him for the money she is giving to him! What the FUCK, if you don't want to give him money, DON'T GIVE HIM MONEY. HIS DICK CAN'T BE THAT GOOD.
Your legs are so fantastic, GO GET ANOTHER ONE.
Ugh, I don't even want to talk about it anymore.
What is there to say about Veda? The worst child ever to be written about in literature? I would've liked the last chapter to be, "And then she fell down a well and broke her neck."
But then I'd have had to read about how heartbroken Mildred was, and how she tried to fix it with glue, or something.
Seriously, the adoration showered on that righteous bitch was too much for me. Every time Mildred swooned over her, I had to close the book and walk away for a minute.
It may sound like I hated this book, I really didn't. But I did. I'm torn. It helped that I finished the last half while sitting on the water at the beach. It was very soothing.
I have no idea where I got it from, and it looks to have been printed in 1946. The spine is cracked, and the dust jacket is gone, but it's in really good shape.
Hopefully I enjoy it.
----
Children make you do crazy things. Especially teenagers. Crazy things like fling them through closed windows. Though I have yet to do so, the day will come. Oh, how the day will come. But also, you love them so much, and you want the best for them. You're willing to overlook faults and make sacrifices to ensure their well being, and their happiness. They're your children, and you love them more than anything.
So, a part of me REALLY understands why Mildred puts up with what she does. I get it. She's your kid. She's the goddamn cunt of Satan himself, but she's yours.
All of that being said, I hated her a lot through this book. I didn't hate her when watching the original movie, or the miniseries. And starting out the book, I was really into how strong she was. She kicks out her philandering lay about husband, yet maintains a decent relationship with him for her children (CHILDREN, MILDRED. TWO OF 'EM), and even manages to double cross him to get her much needed car.
Fuck yeah, Mildred Pierce!!
I also texted the best friend, who is a professional cake decorator, the description of the gorgeous cake she makes at the beginning of the book, and asked her to tell me how much the cost would be for it, keeping in mind the book was set in the 30's.
"Uh, back then? $40?"
She about fell over when I told her three dollars. And that of that three dollars, only a small portion was going to buy good lamb chops for dinner. That's 99% of the fun of reading these books is seeing the prices of things then.
I was irked by her Veda-esque high falutin' ways when it came to getting a job. I was proud of her for turning down the awful servant job, but when it came to her holier than thou routine regarding being a waitress, I was just annoyed. I get it, because the idea of losing my job and going to work for McDonald's makes my lunch want to revisit me, but I'm not actually supporting the teenager I want to put through a closed window.
You got two kids, Mildred. (THAT'S TWO, MILDRED. TWO KIDS. COUNT 'EM.) Put on the uniform and suck it the fuck up.
But she does it, and she gets good. And I adored everything involving opening up her restaurant. I was even thrilled reading the descriptions of her opening her chains, after we'd well and good gotten into the parts where I started to despise her.
Here's the problem. She's a strong woman. She's a strong woman who opens her own restaurant, and leaves early to run off with a man she barely knows. She's spontaneous and having fun because life is about to start.
And then she turns into the biggest damn wet blanket needy clingy doormat of a woman. Every time she bit her tongue when Monty mocked her, openly and loudly, I'm like, "What? What? What? Where is the woman who kicked her husband out of the house when she barely had two dimes to rub together?!"
THEN, for fuck's sake, she starts giving him money! Constantly! On top of that, she's mad at him for the money she is giving to him! What the FUCK, if you don't want to give him money, DON'T GIVE HIM MONEY. HIS DICK CAN'T BE THAT GOOD.
Your legs are so fantastic, GO GET ANOTHER ONE.
Ugh, I don't even want to talk about it anymore.
What is there to say about Veda? The worst child ever to be written about in literature? I would've liked the last chapter to be, "And then she fell down a well and broke her neck."
But then I'd have had to read about how heartbroken Mildred was, and how she tried to fix it with glue, or something.
Seriously, the adoration showered on that righteous bitch was too much for me. Every time Mildred swooned over her, I had to close the book and walk away for a minute.
It may sound like I hated this book, I really didn't. But I did. I'm torn. It helped that I finished the last half while sitting on the water at the beach. It was very soothing.