Mildred Pierce
by James M. Cain
Orion, HK$115
Every so often a novel comes along that is so good it has to come along all over again. First published in 1941, now reissued, Mildred Pierce is just such a novel - or almost. It might be more accurate to say James M. Cain is just such a writer. Being the most cynical of the hardboilers, he helped define crime fiction and film noir with his classic novels The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity. Mildred Pierce is set in depression-era California and the tale begins when Mildred kicks out her useless husband, Herbert. Cain records in pitiless detail Mildred's attempts to survive poverty, loneliness and even more good-for-nothing men. The most trying obstacle of all is Veda, Mildred's appalling daughter, whose sexual precociousness makes Lolita look like Mother Teresa. Veda's 'two round, swelling protuberances ... would have been large even for a woman: for a child of thirteen they were positively startling,' runs one evocation. Despite its longueurs, the novel is well worth a look if only to counterbalance the Joan Crawford melodramatic film adaptation. Cain's prose is a constant delight and never more so than in the famous final exchange. You can discover that for yourself.