Mildred Pierce

I have seen some uneducated "reviews" of this book. They are indicative of people who don't understand much about the era, the language, what the author could get away with in light of harsh censorship, and more. I say: please do not pay attention to these "reviews."However, before you read this book, you might need to understand something about Southern California in the late 1930s, early 1940s, and you might want to familiarize yourself with some of the slang words/phrases that are used quite liberally and frequently throughout the book. Some of it is commented on; others you are simply going to have to look up ("varlet," anyone?).Assuming you have done that, this is a wonderful read. And most importantly, despite the current hysteria that no one can write anything these days unless the writer is exactly the same sexual/racial/ethnic make-up of the individual that the story is about, James M. Cain clearly could write from the POV of a woman at that time. Now he would be accused of being sexist and God knows what else, but as a man who writes female-driven screenplays, I appreciate his wonderful attention to detail about the type of clothes Mildred wore, her concerns about the changing shape of her body under pressure and the small, feminine details that I imagine most men wouldn't pick up on.That said: This is a story about a somewhat simple woman (Mildred), a housewife, who yearns for greater things, most importantly for her oldest daughter Veda. Why this is remains a mystery, because Veda is an obnoxious brat who is undeserving of anything that Mildred does for her and has a completely distorted sense of her own importance and of reality.But, as many of us are, Mildred is blinded by her love and devotion to her child above all else, and this is her motivation to rise from humble housewife to restaurant tycoon, all the while having to rely on the men in her life: Bert, her ex-husband, who seems to still love Mildred, but is a dreamer incapable of holding down a solid job; Wally, her adviser, who seems more interested in sleeping with Mildred than helping her, and Monty, a former playboy who is down on his luck and apparently not too proud to accept handouts from Mildred.Mildred survives divorce, the death of her first child (Ray), and being forced to take work as a waitress (she apparently has no office skills) in order to survive. It's here, at her first waitress job that she realizes she can bake better pies than the ones served at the diner where she works, which sets her on her climb upward.We are taken deep into the world of opening a new restaurant, of negotiating, of what it might have been like for a woman unschooled in business to have taken this leap of faith... all while Veda scoffs at Mildred for having to be so "common," and being so "Glendale." Here Mildred works herself to the bone to give Veda nice clothes, a grand piano (Veda at first thinks she's going to be a classical pianist) and more, but it doesn't make any difference how much Mildred gives Veda; Veda's whole goal is to get the hell out of Glendale (a sort of middle-class suburban area in Southern California) and move upward through society as quickly as she can. If that happens to mean faking pregnancies and accusing rich boys of being the father just so she can get money, so be it.Veda has no shame in pursuing her ulterior motive: to get away from Mildred and her suffocating love. And Mildred, too, has no shame in pursuing her ulterior motive: to keep Veda close to her at all times.If I had a problem with this story, it would be that I could not understand why Mildred constantly forgave Veda (well, I won't give away the ending) and would do anything to win her back. Veda was obnoxious, spoiled, ungrateful, hateful, cruel and dismissive. What she deserved was, as my late father would say, "a good, swift kick."The end of the story does NOT mirror what happened in the movie version (with Joan Crawford, a classic film, yes, but NOT the same as the book), and in many ways, I found the ending of the book more satisfying.As I read it, I could see why Zachary Scott was cast as Monty and Jack Carson as Wally. They really nailed the sort of slightly sleazy individuals described in the book. Joan Crawford would not have been my first (or last) choice as Mildred, nor would Ann Blyth have been my first choice for Veda (although she would have been on the list).All the characters in the book are wonderfully alive and the language of the time and the locales (Laguna Beach!) are all brought to loving life by Mr. Cain.There are several dialogues that go on and on, and Mr. Cain's attempt to mimic the language of several non-English speaking individuals might be considered cringeworthy now. There are also several references to the word "w-p" -- describing Veda's voice teacher. This is upsetting, but then, that's how white people talked about "the others" -- that was accepted in their worlds, as if it would always be that way. In this way, the book is extremely revealing about the true inner thoughts of middle-class white Americans.If you can handle some of the slang and the fact that this story takes place in a time when women in general did not have that much of their own power, you will find a fascinating story about a mother-daughter relationship that is riveting.

This novel is the best argument I know for the imagination. How did Cain do it? Any of it? His insight into what one reader called "the blindness of mother love" is astonishing. And the plot! It's one of the most well-crafted, surprising, fully-connected-to-characterization-and-setting plots, like a Willa Cather novel with a hard-boiled narrative voice. It's a much richer, more compelling, novel than the Postman Always Rings Twice, Cain's most famous work. When I finished reading the book I wanted to read it again, backwards, to see how it was constructed.I felt the same way when I finished reading Atonement.Of course that means I'd have to read the last chapter twice in a short period of time, and the last chapter is the one flaw. It's like Cain shrugs his shoulders and says he really wasn't writing a great American novel, that it was all about the plot and not the characters all along. So it has this Perry Mason ending. Satisfying, even thrilling in its way, but not GREAT. But so close, so close.

There is also a movie on this book. I couldn’t put it down such clever plot twists

Did I buy Mildred Pierce or the Never ending story? This book it literally crumbling apart and disappearing as I’m reading it. Not disappointed but a little disillusioned.

This story takes place during the 1930's when jobs were not plentiful, nor was food, or clothing.Mildred was a homemaker with two children and a Husband. Unfortunately, this husband was not willing to work; he was more of a dreamer. Mildred, on the other hand, was always in the kitchen cooking. She made some extra money by making pies and cakes for people.Mildred's marriage was pretty much on the rocks because good ole hubby was having an affair. The affair was the straw that broke the camel's back as her husband walks out on her, leaving her in debt and no income.For a stay-at-home mom with no skills or experience, finding a job was almost impossible. The employment agency sent Mildred to apply for a housekeeper's position for some witch that was going to marry someone with money. This witch wanted to let Mildred know what her place was tobe in the household. After listening to a load of crap, Mildred became angry and told the witch off.Mildred was dead tired when she stopped at a coffee shop to have a sandwich. There seemed to be a disturbance between two of the employees, and the two of them got fired right on the spot. Mildred seized this opportunity to ask for a job, which she got right then and there. The pay was like 25¢ an hour, and the tips were like 5¢ or 10¢.Once Mildred got home, she continued making pies for people. Her orders for pies was increasing, and she ended up with a couple of contracts to make pies for different restaurants.The fact that Mildred was working as waitress was well hidden from her children. There would not be a problem with Ray, the youngest daughter, but Veda, the oldest daughter, there would be a problem. Veda was a hoity toity little bitch from a young age. She felt that being a waitress was way beneath her way of life.As time went on, Mildred became the best waitress and was Learning everything she could about the restaurant business. This gave Mildred the tools she needed to open up her own restaurant. She was so successful that she was able to open two more restaurants.Unfortunately, all good things must come to and end. Mildred marries a gigolo, who won't work and just sponges off of her. Just prior to her marriage, Mildred loses her youngest daughter, Ray, to, I believe it was streptococcus. Veda, in the mean time, has been studying piano with the hopes of making it big time. As Veda was not making any head way with the piano, she switched to studying singing, which paid off for her because she was doing opera. Veda is staying with her mother during this time and is not contributing a cent to the household. Good ole mama is footing the bill for her, and the gigolo husband. The money is going out faster than it is coming in between those two leeches. Mildred had planned to talk to Veda about contributing to the living expenses. She went to her room and found it empty. She went to her husband's room and there was Veda, naked as Jay Bird in his bed. Mildred saw red and tried to choke Veda, but did not finish the job (dam). Mildred ended up losing everything she had worked for and was left broke. She divorced her Gigolo and moved back to her old house where it all began. She also remarried her first husband again.Veda came to her house to say goodbye as she was moving to New York and of course, the gigolo would be with her. Her mother told her to get out and don't ever come back.I have seen two movies made from this book; one with Joan Crawford, and the other with Kate Winslet. Both movies were done very well.Dianna,Prescott, AZ.

I finally read this book after having enjoyed both movie versions. It was an enjoyable story and moved along nicely. However, I found the ending anticlimactic and disappointing and was left unsatisfied. Hence the 4 stars out of 5.

É uma dessas histórias que falam especificamente para mulheres atuais, que têm que sobreviver, lutar, tentando entender as regras sociais conforme elas vão mudando.

Un libro con una storia affascinante e coinvolgente. I personaggi sono descritti in modo tridimensionale rendendo il racconto coinvolgente e da leggere tutto di un fiato

Après avoir visionné la superbe série avec Kate Winsley,et comparé avec le film de 1946 (Joan Crawford),j'ai eu envie de lire le livre en anglais et c'est formidable! J'ai tout commandé sur Amazon et je ne regrette aucun de mes 3 achats! Il faut absolument lire ce bouquin si l'on veut comprendre l'énergie de l'âme féminine, et les douleurs de l'amour maternel! A mon avis la série est meilleure que le film car plus fidèle au texte. L'adaptation est très bien faite ce qui est rare! Kate Winsley est définitivement Mildred!

This was a really good old-fashioned read. It's set in a time when women were home bodies, men made the money and kids were well behaved. Yes, it's set in that time, but this family turn everyone of those stereotypes on their heads!Mildred - disappointed with a feckless husband; the feckless husband - big ideas but too lazy to bring them to fruition (although he stirs himself enough to maintain a girlfriend on the side); and a daughter - ambitious to the point of being obnoxious, but nevertheless an ambition encouraged by her doting mother.Within the first few pages Mildred throws Herbert out and before long realises that she has to find some means of earning a living, but it has to be a position that the obnoxious Veda won't be embarrassed about in front of her friends, which is nigh on impossible as she spends most of the book being embarrassed about her mother. And Mildred spends most of the book pampering her daughter's ego and ambition, never wanting to admit to herself how low Veda's opinion is of her.This is a book about a spoilt brat and an adoring mother who constantly believes that the serpent in her midst is worthy of her love and is not going to turn around and bite her - but even when she does, she goes back for more.Running alongside an account of a disturbed, dysfunctional family is a mini history of bygone era. Anyone who has seen the film knows the gist, but don't be put off because of that. Give it a go, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Ayant vu le Film, je voulais aussi lire le livre. Très bonne écriture, facile a comprendre, m^eme si comme moi, on n'est pas trop familier de la langue anglaise. L'histoire est passionnante et le livre ainsi que le film vous mènent tout droit dans les années de dépression en Amérique. La fille ainé de Mildred par contre est une peste, énervant a souhait et absolument ingrate vis a vis des efforts de sa mère pour faire vivre sa famille après l'abandon du père.A Mildred on pardonne même son mauvais choix -selon moi- du Gigolo qu'elle aime.Passionnant.