The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)

by James M. Cain



A drifter takes what he intends to be a temporary job at a roadside diner but is soon involved in an affair with the owner's wife, which leads to a plan to bump the husband off.

 


James M. Cain had an engaging story and stripped his prose down to the essentials, producing one of the greatest sustained examples of narrative momentum I can recall.

 

James M. Cain


With scarcely any interior dialogue (despite the use of a first-person narrator), he paints a penetrating psychological portrait of the conspirators as their relationship develops from their initial attraction, through their attempts at murder, until their post-crime mutual mistrust and ultimate reconciliation.

 


The end is shattering, completing Cain's bleak portrayal of the human condition.



"The Postman Always Calls Twice" (Persian)

"The Postman Always Calls Twice" (Dutch)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Slovenian)

"The Postman Rings Twice" (Spanish)

"Injury to the Neck" (Finnish)

"The Bill Without the Landlord" (German)

"The Postman Always Calls Twice" (Swedish)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Italian)

"The Postman Always Hits Twice" (Greek)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Hungarian)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (French)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Romanian)

"Destiny Knocks at Your Door" (Portuguese)

"The Postman Rings Twice" (Korean)

"The Postman Always Calls Twice" (Danish)

"The Messenger Calls Twice" (Lithuanian)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Russian)

"The Postman Always Calls Twice" (Catalan)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Polish)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Bulgarian)

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" (Croatian)

"The Postman Knocked Twice" (Turkish)


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