Last and First Lines

Some of you may have recognized yesterday's lines by the helpful hint of the character's name in the last line. If not then I'll tell you Cora Papadakis, was married to that greasy Greek, Nick Papadakis, and conspired to murder him with Frank Chambers (who is the first person narrator). In the movie these two "lovers" (they end up turning on each other) were played by Lana Turner and John Garfield or Jessica Lange and Jack Nicholson (depending on how old you are). The book is of course The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain.

That first line drops you into Frank's story in medias res as they used to say in ancient Rome, and from there the story takes off, or actually spirals downward, at top speed. Tom Wolfe in the introduction to Cain X 3, which reprinted Postman.. along with Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity , said that what Cain had like nobody else was "acceleration". At least until the final pathetic end on death row where Frank, headed for the gas chamber, still hopes to be together with Cora "wherever it is" (the sap) . Well, your looking at a murder rap pal. I think we all know "wherever". Ain't love grand!

Today's lines are from another mystery, rather more recent, British, and written by a women, but no less noir than Cain's classic. And as an added bonus the first line also helps point out the importance of literacy.

First Line: "Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she couldn't read or write."

Last Line "Dust, Ashes, Waste, Want, Ruin, Despair, Madness, Death, Cunning, Folly, Words, Wigs, Rags, Sheepskin, Plunder, Precedent, Jargon, Gammon, and Spinach."