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adam_mcphee 's review for:
Solomon's Vineyard
by Jonathan Latimer
Heard about this from Sam Wiebe's newsletter, who accurately called it "a pulp classic and a seedy delight." Fairly bleak novel by a former Perry Mason writer. Was censored in the States and bowdlerized in England until the 80s.
As a noir, pretty good. Never been a fan of cult plots though, it lets you get away with unmotivated villainous behaviour just because "oh that's what the cult believes" or whatever. Still, the final cult twist was good. And the gun fight at the restaurant was cool.
Some favourite noir-ish lines:
The 'That's Chappie' moment:
“That's Solomon's Vineyard.”
“What?”
“You heard of it,” the driver said. “A religious colony. Raise grapes ... and hell.”
He looked around to see if I liked the joke. I liked it all right. I laughed.
good description:
another good description:
Ice cold at the graveside:
small town life:
Ginger said: “Now where?”
The dashboard clock said eleven-ten. “The cemetery, I guess.”
“Where's that?”
Two old men were sitting on the porch of the general store. I leaned out the window and asked one of 'em: “Dad where's the cemetery?”
One of the old men had a drooping moustache. He spat through it at a post. “Which one?”
Ginger said: “Jesus! have you got two?”
As a noir, pretty good. Never been a fan of cult plots though, it lets you get away with unmotivated villainous behaviour just because "oh that's what the cult believes" or whatever. Still, the final cult twist was good. And the gun fight at the restaurant was cool.
Some favourite noir-ish lines:
The 'That's Chappie' moment:
Spoiler
We went by a movie house, turned left where it saidNo Left Turn, and climbed a hill. I saw a gulley with a shallow stream. The water looked stagnant. In the distance there was another hill with four brick buildings and a smaller white one near the top. There were green fields and grape vines on the hill. The white building looked like a temple. I pointed out the hill to the driver.“That's Solomon's Vineyard.”
“What?”
“You heard of it,” the driver said. “A religious colony. Raise grapes ... and hell.”
He looked around to see if I liked the joke. I liked it all right. I laughed.
good description:
Spoiler
He was short, but his chest and shoulders were powerful. He had mean blue eyes and he needed a shave. He had the longest arms I ever saw on anything more civilized than an orang-outang. He was a towhead and he had a club foot.another good description:
Spoiler
I thought Carter Jeliff was a flossy name for a butcher. ... Jeliff looked the way all butchers should look. He was big, almost as big as me, but not so tall, and he had a face like a ham. He was a blond. He was watering some tomato vines. I told him my name and said I was a friend of Oke Johnson's. He said he was glad to see me, and wasn't it too bad about poor Oke? I said it was.Ice cold at the graveside:
Spoiler
I took a peek into the grave. Flowers had almost covered the coffin. I thought: there goes $135. It was the first time I'd ever spent that much on a doll without getting something in return.small town life:
Spoiler
There wasn't much I could say to that, so I didn't say anything. Ginger let up on the gas. I heard a rumble of thunder. The black clouds covered half the sky. We went by a long field of corn, and then we came to a row of elms. There was a farmhouse and a white fence, and on the lawn two kids were playing with a collie. Temple had two garages, a general store, a drug store, five service stations, a movie with a sign saying:Next Saturday-Clark Gable in San Francisco, and a combination restaurant and pool hall. There were about thirty frame houses in the town.Ginger said: “Now where?”
The dashboard clock said eleven-ten. “The cemetery, I guess.”
“Where's that?”
Two old men were sitting on the porch of the general store. I leaned out the window and asked one of 'em: “Dad where's the cemetery?”
One of the old men had a drooping moustache. He spat through it at a post. “Which one?”
Ginger said: “Jesus! have you got two?”