Mildred Pierce by James M Cain

Backcover blurb:  Mildred Pierce is the story of a determined and ambitious woman who, after her feckless husband abandons her, by hard work and sacrifice builds a successful business to ensure the future of her pampered and selfish daughter.  But Mildred is completely unprepared for the intrigues and devastating betrayals of those closest to her.  Memorably filmed, with Joan Crawford in the title role, this is James M Cain's most substantial novel, a classic of the Depression years in California.

The original Mildred Pierce trailer starring Joan Crawford (1945):



On the making of Mildred Pierce, the five-part HBO television miniseries starring Kate Winslet, premiered in March of this year:



About the author:  James M Cain (1892-1977) was born in Annapolis, Maryland.  He served in the US Army in World War I, worked as a journalist in Baltimore and New York in the 1920s and spent the 1930s and 1940s as a screenwriter.  His novels include The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934), Double Indemnity (1943) and Serenade (1937).  Mildred Pierce was first published in the USA in 1941 and in Great Britain in 2002.

An article on the author by The Atlantic magazine.

A review of the book by The Los Angeles Times.

My take:  Superb read.  Unique.  My first foray into Cain's novels.  The first half of the book is well-constructed step by step but I thought the second half is rushed right through to the conclusion to my disappointment.  There is no shooting scene as depicted in the Joan Crawford film as expected so it is never a good idea to watch the trailer first before reading the book!  However, it would be interesting to get ahold of both the old and new films to watch their versions of it.

This story has two lines:  it tells of an ambitious and self-reliant woman who makes some success out of her life and on the other hand, it also tells of a mother-daughter relationship which is fraught with some difficulties.  The woman's daughter is not likeable and is quite precocious from a young age.  If I were Mildred Pierce, I would think it very difficult to handle such a stubborn and dare I say evil daughter.  Mildred Pierce did the best she could in her own way and I admire her for it but it is true when it is said that her only crime as a mother is that she had loved her daughter too well.  Other thought-provoking issues are raised in this book which might make this book a good one for a book club.

Written more than three decades before I was born, this book still resonates today.  Writers do not write like this anymore.  It is a true gem.  Do read it because there is no cause for regrets if you do.

Rating:  4/5