Genre: Crime, Noir
Series: Both are standalone
Page Count: DI 115 and MP 298
Publication Year: DI 1936 and MP 1941
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Inc.
Double Indemnity
Summary: What happens when insurance and a dame collide? Murder, that’s what.
This is my first noir book and I had a great time. The blurb on the back said you won’t stop reading in the middle, and it was right.
The story is about an insurance guy, Huff, who helps a woman murder her husband so they can split the insurance money. I did see the adaptation years ago but had very little recollection of what happened, so seeing everything play out was very exciting.
This is unlike any book I’ve ever read. Not only is the story and setting unusual for me, but the bluntness of its delivery was a (good) shock to my system. I didn’t know what to expect and yet when I got to the end it was exactly what I wanted.
The only glaring issue I have is the romance between Huff and the wife. It’s there simply because it needs to be. I’m loath to say this, but Wuthering Heights has a more believable romance.
Huff is the kind of guy who doesn’t beat around bushes and would probably throw you into the greenery with grim efficiency. He’s uncomplicated but keeps secrets well; he’s good at his job but is easily turned by a woman; he gets the job done but he also has regrets. Huff doesn’t have hidden depths, lots of personal growth or a likable personality, but he is still an interesting character; I’m intrigued as to how Cain managed that.
The rest of the cast is pretty simple in their personalities. It’s obvious this wasn’t written recently, but the women aren’t treated like just pretty faces; their roles have just as much weight as Huff’s.
What makes this such a tight, fast story is the stripped-down prose. It’s in first person but it’s not self-centered. It doesn’t center on Huff’s thoughts and he doesn’t have much backstory. There’s no purple prose, overly long chunks of description or unnecessary information. You’re told what’s pertinent to the events and it makes the reading experience a breeze.
I’m a sucker for books with lots of dialogue and this has it in spades. There aren’t a lot of dialogue tags though, so keeping track of who’s talking can be a slight challenge. I appreciate that none of these people are idiots and it comes across in what they say. Huff’s plans for the murder and its aftermath show that these people are thinking and reasoning and sharp. That shouldn’t be shocking, but it kinda is. Huff’s boss deserves a mention for being one of the sharpest people; watching him deduce the truth is a delight.
This is such a breath of fresh air, especially after Wuthering Heights. I’m can’t stop being impressed. If you want a quick, twisty, suspenseful story, this is it.
Check out my rating here.
Mildred Pierce
Summary: After getting divorced, a woman sets out to make her fortune.
Well. This is quite different from Indemnity.
It opens with Mildred telling her husband to leave. It’s revealed that he’s been seeing another woman and Mildred is not having it anymore. Soon after he’s gone, she realizes that money will be an issue, and, while her baking skills are formidable, she’ll need to get a job.
The story starts in 1931 and finding a job, for man or woman, isn’t all that easy with the Depression as the employer. Mildred has some pride and certain jobs are a no-go. But when her desperation reaches a new low, she turns toward waitressing. What she doesn’t know is that this job will lead her toward success. Or at least some variation of success.
With Indemnity fresh in my mind, I expected this to be another murder story. It’s not, but that’s okay because it’s still an engrossing one. (I’m not saying that a book can only be engrossing if it has murder, but this type of story isn’t one I’d normally read, so it’s impressive that I became immersed in it.) It’s a domestic tale full of triumphs and failures, love and hate, success and loss. Even as I started to dislike everybody, I still found myself gravitating toward this whirlpool of disaster, and that’s a sign of a talented writer.
For the first half of the story, I was very much on Mildred’s side. Her journey from finding a job to eventually having her own business is inspiring. She’s good at what she does and uses that skill to make something of herself. She makes plenty of mistakes, most of them personal, but her business side is quite good. I don’t like her as a person; she can be singleminded, cold, and selfish, but I understand and respect the choices she makes. Except one.
The second half of the book is more about Mildred’s relationship with her daughter, Veda. Isn’t that sweet? Nope. Veda is a narcissistic sociopath. I don’t have kids, but I don’t get how Mildred could see what Veda does and still want love from, success for, or association with this devil’s spawn. Veda wants money, fame, and adulation and she will do whatever she has to to get it. Any remorse, sadness or empathy she may show is an act and that is maddening to watch. She always puts Mildred on the defensive, so any conversation between them feels like a loss for Mildred. She sees her mother as less than, because Mildred was a waitress and baked food and that’s completely shameful, even though it put food in Veda’s mouth. I hate that and I hate her. But I gotta hand it to Cain, he knew the right path to take to create a despicable person.
Like Indemnity, this one doesn’t have many dialogue tags or adverbs to describe their emotions e.g. grimly, happily, soothingly. But what’s absolutely amazing about that is I don’t need them. By their words alone I know what they sound like. Some tones and emotions are stated, but for the most part I could tell where everyone stood based on what they said. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before but it is another sign of an accomplished writer.
One thing I really like is hearing about the culture of those times, especially regarding inflation. What the women’s fashion consisted of (mink coats, stockings without runs, lots of dresses) to finding out that Mildred wasn’t baking her pies with the use of a timer (and only later looked at a clock), fascinates me. I gained extreme satisfaction by learning the 1930’s prices of everything: waitressing is 25¢ an hour, a large cake with some decoration $3, a half chicken with a waffle 85¢, a grand piano $1,100, and a mansion in Pasadena (in need of repair) for $30,000. Obviously that won’t interest everyone, but I like it.
The description is straightforward and has no frills. With a story like this I think that’s essential to keep the momentum. I don’t need poetic paintings of the landscape, nor do I need long paragraphs of inner monologue. This isn’t fantasy or literary fiction, this is what “gritty” and “hard-boiled” looks like.
Despite my praise, I don’t like this story or the people. But the thing about books—and stories in general—is that you can despise it and yet see its merits and the skills it took to create. The lessons you can learn from this book are: don’t be a doormat, don’t let your spending exceed your income, fortunes attract the wrong people, and food will always make money.
Now that I’ve experienced noir, I shall continue to read more books in the genre.
Check out my rating here.