Posted by Joel Lane The first half of the novel is flimsy and bland; but as the situation deteriorates and the couple retreat to Panama in search of acceptance, Woolrich turns in a superb evocation of squalor and degradation. The party on the yacht is a magnificent set-piece. The novel's ending, though predictable, describes something that eludes most of Woolrich's characters: redemption through acceptance of the inevitability of death. DIMDP was clearly influenced by James M. Cain's SERENADE; the staccato, brittle prose style also shows the influence of Robert Bloch. Woolrich was trying to find a new voice but also, perhaps, trying to say goodbye.
on 10/19/2003, 2:37 pm
195.92.168.172
In FIRST YOU SCREAM, THEN YOU DIE, Francis M. Nevins condemns Woolrich's late novel DEATH IS MAY DANCING PARTNER as an 'atrocity' that nailed the coffin of his literary reputation. But I think it's actually quite a good novel. It poses as a suspense thriller and isn't one, which will have annoyed many readers; but it's quite an intelligent and serious novel about the problems of being a popular artist. In fact, I think it's Woolrich's commentary on his own career. The young couple are admired as long as they carry the whiff of scandal and morbidity; but when the pretence becomes a reality, they are ostracised. Likewise, if you play at being a 'dark' writer you are admired; but if the darkness is real, no-one wants to know you. But Woolrich is also acknowledging the validity of the distinction: artistry is something to praise, morbidity is not.
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