James M. Cain es considerado una figura fundamental del estilo "roman noir". Sus obras, profundamente arraigadas en la ficción criminal estadounidense, exploran los aspectos más oscuros de la naturaleza humana con una precisión impactante. La prosa de Cain se caracteriza por su lenguaje conciso y sin sentimentalismos, y por un crudo realismo que sumerge al lector en relatos de pasión, traición y violencia. Sus novelas a menudo exploran la naturaleza esquiva del sueño americano y los compromisos morales que los individuos hacen bajo coacción.
Frank Chambers sólo pretende un plato de comida cuando entra en la fonda de Papadakis, pero la atracción hacia Cora, la joven y sensual esposa del dueño, le obliga a quedarse. Un marido viejo resulta un estorbo para dos apasionados amantes sin escrúpulos. Este clásico de la novela de suspense fue llevado al cine en dos ocasiones y lo interpretaron Lana Turner y John Garfield, en 1946, y Jessica Lange y Jack Nicholson, en 1981.
These three classics from the master of the noir novel, along with five otherwise unavailable short stories, are electric with the taut narrative voice, the suspense, and the explosive violence and eroticism that were James M. Cain’s indelible hallmarks. The Postman Always Rings Twice, Cain’s first novel–the subject of an obscenity trial in Boston, the inspiration for Camus’s The Stranger–is the fever-pitched tale of a drifter who stumbles into a job, into an erotic obsession, and into a murder. Double Indemnity–which followed Postman so quickly, Cain’s readers hardly had a chance to catch their breath–is a tersely narrated story of blind passion, duplicity, and, of course, murder. Mildred Pierce, a work of acute psychological observation and devastating emotional violence, is the tale of a woman with a taste for shiftless men and an unreasoned devotion to her monstrous daughter. All three novels were immortalized in classic Hollywood films. Also included here are five masterful stories–“Pastorale,” “The Baby in the Icebox,” “Dead Man,” “Brush Fire,” “The Girl in the Storm”–that have been out of print for decades.
Tautly narrated and excruciatingly suspenseful, Double Indemnity gives us an X-ray view of guilt, of duplicity, and of the kind of obsessive, loveless love that devastates everything it touches. First published in 1935, this novel reaffirmed James M. Cain as a virtuoso of the roman noir.Walter Huff was an insurance salesman with an unfailing instinct for clients who might be in trouble, and his instinct led him to Phyllis Nirdlinger. Phyllis wanted to buy an accident policy on her husband. Then she wanted her husband to have an accident. Walter wanted Phyllis. To get her, he would arrange the perfect murder and betray everything he had ever lived for.
Through candid interviews, the author shares his journey from aspiring writer to Hollywood icon, reflecting on his early newspaper career and experiences with notable figures like Marilyn Monroe. He offers unfiltered insights into his views on literary giants such as Hemingway and Fitzgerald, while also contemplating his legacy and future aspirations at eighty-five. The narrative is infused with the distinct tone and style characteristic of a master storyteller, providing a unique glimpse into the mind of a celebrated writer.
MILDRED PIERCE is the story of a determined and ambitious woman who, after her feckless husband abandons her, builds a successful business through hard work and sacrifice in order to ensure the future of her pampered and selfish daughter. But she isn't prepared for the intrigues and devastating betrayals of those closest to her.
The sultry young wife of a diner owner conspires with an aimless drifter to murder her husband
