The Postman Always Rings Twice
Weโre chained to each other, Cora. We thought we were on top of a mountain. That wasnโt it. Itโs on top of us and thatโs where itโs been ever since that night.
I read this because one of my favorite Korean authors, Jang Kang-Myung, recommended this as one of the books of his life. I can totally see why.
You know that moment when you realize your favorite contemporary authors were just washed down versions of old masters? Like omg-this-guy-is-god moment? (Wording taken from Scott McCloudโs Understanding Comics). This was it. OMG. The raw and effortless suspense from the simplest sentences and situations ever.ย
Did Frank reallyย โloveโ Cora at the end, like he claims? I donโt think so. It was just a quick re-honeymoon phase after the adrenaline rush of expecting a baby. He would have become bored in his life again, and he would have cheated or murdered again.
โPut that in the car, will you?โ โThe car?โ โArenโt we taking the car?โ โNot unless you want to spend the first night in jail, weโre not. Stealing a manโs wife, thatโs nothing, but stealing his car, thatโs larceny.โ โOh.โ
That โOh.โย
I feel so bad for Cora. She, like many women before and after her, thought the only way for a fulfilling life wasย โlove.โ Thatโs why she gladly tried to run away with Frank, and cried so much when she found out elopement wasnโt as luxurious as she thought. And why she was so disappointed when Frank betrayed her and she found out how unlovely their love was.
She had looked nice when she started out, with a little blue suit and blue hat, but now she looked all battered, and her shoes were dusty, and she couldnโt even walk right, from crying. All of a sudden, I found out I was crying too.
The beauty of that last sentence. The thing about James Cain is he keeps hiding curve balls in innocent words.ย
I couldnโt really figure it out for sure, but it seemed like Frank kept beating Cora after arguments? Like there are allusions - grabbing forย โthe bottle,โ and hearing theย โcrackโ in nightmares. But never for sure. If thatโs true, than the baby was totally a curse - Cora should have left him for good!
Most Internet reviews talk about how the title doesnโt really have anything to do with the actual content. But I do see a parallel. Theย โringing twiceโ part. Itโs a metaphor for how there were two of many key events - two attempts to murder the Greek, two car accidents, Frank ending up with Sackett twice, two insurance policies, twoย women, and two cats. Itโs like after the first, Frank and Cora try to forget about it, but it inevitably comes up again, because thatโs just human nature, or their nature, or the undeniable course of their path to doom.
Who said genre fiction cannot be literature? I will just read them the titleย of this book.
After reading this book, I can say with 100% confidence this book is so underappreciated!! This book is like, America itself...