Serenade [Import] [Paperback]

James M. Cain (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan; New Ed edition (May 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330263412
• ISBN-13: 978-0330263412
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars HARD EDGED BUT EXCELLENT LOVE STORY, January 22, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Schwangau, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Serenade (Mass Market Paperback)

One of the greatest love stories ever written, in my mind. Full of aggression, cynicism, pace but also of passion. His picture of pre-War Mexico is magical, if somewhat seedy. It is a tragedy that it is out of print - the Postman Always Rings Twice shadowed this more sophisticated, but just as readable novel, due to the Film.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Personal Favorite, November 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Serenade (Hardcover)

If not in the top 10, certainly among the top 100 best books I have ever read. Absolutely stunning images, an entirely unique plot, and a whole new meaning to the song "Cielito lindo."

"Postman" was OK, but I think "Serenade" was Cain's masterpiece. It compares favorably with Charles Willeford's "The Way We Die Now", which is high praise indeed.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Cain's Best-- Completely Unclassifiable, December 19, 2005

By 

Chris Ward (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serenade (Crime Masterworks) (Paperback)

Everyone should read three James M. Cains: "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Double Indemnity," and "Serenade." His writing reached its peak with these three. The first two are hard-boiled and terse and nasty, and they move like bullets to their sordid ends. But "Serenade" is almost lyrically operatic, in keeping with the soap opera that is the protagonist's love life. This tremendously forward-looking and unpredictable (and brief and economical) book melds a number of Cain's loves into a tapestry of nearly ludicrous proportions. Read it! You won't be disappointed.