I mentioned in a facebook status that I'd been teaching The Postman Always Rings Twice, and a scholar in Taiwan surprised me by saying, "There are some extraordinary sentences in that novel." 'Cause the style doesn't call attention to itself like Woolrich or even like earlier tough-guy writers such as Hammett and Hemingway. And what had made the biggest impression on me in the novel was not Frank's narrative voice but the characterization through dialogue. "Killed it deader'n hell." "He suspicions me, Frank." "Was a all go dark." Even "She picked it up and tucked it around me, then turned away quick" is more notable for what it describes than how it's written, I thought.
So what do you think? Any "extraordinary sentences," either for the imagery or for the punch they pack or for the dialogue they convey? This could be useful to think about for the paper-in-progress.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoy Cain's writing as opposed to Woolrich. In my reading of "Rendezvous in Black," I couldn't help but be a tad annoyed, but I didn't know why. After reading this post, you helped me clear it up by saying that Woolrich's style calls attention to itself. That is it. His writing is so stylized it frustrates me. He is beating the reader over the head and saying, "THIS IS DARK AND SUSPENSEFUL." Cain, on the other hand, lets things marinate a bit with his unreliable narrator. And, therefore, I think the writing is much, much better. There are some wonderful instances in the novel that are so simple in their prose, yet so fantastic in their meaning. For instance, "And with my ears ringing and that weight on my back and chest, it seemed to me that all the devilment, and meanness, and shiftlessness, and no-account stuff in my life had been pressed out and washed off, and I was all ready to start out with her again clean, and do like she said, have a new life."
ReplyDeleteThat is such a beautiful moment of catharsis, made all the more tragic because of the end of the novel. And the writing is so simplified, yet profound, it's striking. Cain, here, proves that great writing can be simple writing, and I thoroughly enjoy his style more than Woolrich's.
I personally prefer Woolrich's writing style to Cain's. I enjoyed the stylized language that Woolrich used and Cain's writing style made me question whether or not there had been a typo or an accidentally omitted word. However, I did really enjoy Cain's novel.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy Woolrich's writing style, but I think at times, it is a little too fluffy and much. I think good writing shouldn't be so flowery, but more subtle. I do enjoy his writing a lot, but at times it seems a little over-the-top!
ReplyDeleteCain's writing style took a little getting used to but I enjoyed it. I think that is because before reading I was looking for it to entail all of the flowery words and what not. His style presents a lot of the character attitude and sentiment in a simple way by using the short sentences and vernacular of that time period. The language and writing style in my opinion helped to capture just who these characters were.
ReplyDeleteI very much enjoy both styles for their taut suspensions of overt verbosity, but if I had to choose, it would most definitely be Woolrich. Cain's language is simplistic and very direct, which makes for an easy and enjoyable read, yet I find Noir to be a study in atmosphere. Woolrich does a much better job of presenting details within the atmosphere the characters inhabit, giving specific sights and sounds to the reader.
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