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James M. Cain
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Cloud Nine Kindle Edition

by James M. Cain (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 9 ratings
See all formats and editions
One man sells his soul to save an innocent—who turns out not to be so innocent after all
Graham meets Sonya outside of his real estate office. She is sixteen, beautiful, and showing just the right amount of leg. He’s ruminating on those legs when she drops the bombshell—she’s there because Graham’s brother, Burl, raped her, leaving her frightened, pregnant, and very much alone. She was spending the night with a friend when two boys and a case of beer turned a quiet evening into a hellish orgy. All she wants is the $1,111 it will cost to spend the next few months in a convalescent home, then give the baby up for adoption, but Burl won’t give her the money. Sonya’s vengeful father, meanwhile, wants far more money from Burl, to pay for harming his daughter. Graham offers Sonya a better choice: He’ll marry her so that she can get a legal abortion. This moment of twisted generosity will change his life forever—but he has no idea that, as he asks for Sonya’s hand, he is signing away his soul.
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  1. Print length
    184 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  5. Publication date
    January 15, 2013
  6. File size
    2429 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Nobody else has ever quite pulled it off the way Cain does, not Hemingway, and not even Raymond Chandler. Cain is a master of the change of pace.” —Tom Wolfe “A poet of the tabloid murder.” —Edmund Wilson “No one has ever stopped reading in the middle of one of Jim Cain’s books.” —Saturday Review of Literature

About the Author

James M. Cain (1892–1977) was one of the most important authors in the history of crime fiction. Born in Maryland, he became a journalist after giving up on a childhood dream of singing opera. After two decades writing for newspapers in Baltimore, New York, and the army—and a brief stint as the managing editor of the New Yorker—Cain moved to Hollywood in the early 1930s. While writing for the movies, he turned to fiction, penning the novella The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934). This tightly wound tale of passion, murder, and greed became one of the most controversial bestsellers of its day, and remains one of the foremost examples of American noir writing. It set the tone for Cain’s next few novels, including Serenade (1937), Mildred Pierce (1941), Double Indemnity (1943), and The Butterfly (1947). Several of his books became equally successful noir films, particularly the classic 1940s adaptations of Mildred Pierce and Double Indemnity. Cain moved back to Maryland in 1948. Though he wrote prolifically until his death, Cain remains most famous for his early work.     

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ARQXYBE
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (January 15, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 15, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2429 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

About the author

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James M. Cain

James M. Cain

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James M. Cain was born in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1892. Having served in the US Army in World War 1, he became a journalist in Baltimore and New York in the 1920's. He later worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Cain died in 1977

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
9 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Richard L. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars A diamond sparkling on black velvet
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
Although this book has been unfairly criticized as being second rate work by James M Cain or simply condescdendingly dismissed as the work of an aging writer who has lost his touch, I personally loved it. It was a romance or, at any rate, as close to one as Cain ever got. Being a story by Cain it was filled with the obligatory sexual deviance, treachery, violence, corruption and betrayal. Nevertheless, what may peeople fail to appreciate, is that such a dark setting sets off the bright hope of the lovers much like a piece of black velvet makes a diamond's sparkle more intense. I liked the fact that it had a happy ending as well. Not your usuall Cain but, for me at least, a very pleasant surprise.
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danielx
1.0 out of 5 stars a post-humous coda from a former master of noir
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book will be of interest to the rare "completist" who wants to read everything the novelist James M. Cain ever wrote. He wrote the manuscript towards the end of his life, and like much of his other work of that time period, it was rejected by his publisher. Cloud Nine is only available in print because it was published posthumously in 1984.

The story line involves sex, rape, murder (attempted and actual), and forbidden liasons, against a backdrop of money, power, and family secrets. In the late 1960s (when it was written), Cain could be far more daring than back in his heyday two decades earlier. However, even in a charitable assessment, the action and dialogue fall flat (and at times, are excruciating to read). C'est la vie.

In an extended afterward, Cain's biographer Roy Hoopes puts Cloud Nine into the historical perspective of the author's life and career. As Hoopes states it, "Frankly, the wallop at the end is something less than pure Cain. But the suspense does hold, and the prose reads, well, like it was written by a 75-year-old James M. Cain -- which it was."
3 people found this helpful
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Michael G.
3.0 out of 5 stars Posthumously published.
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2012
Somewhere between the Depression Era and the Vietnam Era legendary author James M. Cain lost his touch as a novelist. Cloud Nine, written in the late 1960s but only published in the 1980s well after Cain had died, is both poorly plotted and shockingly inept in character development.

Graham Kirby, a successful realtor, is confronted by a 16 year old girl named Sonya. Kirby's ne'er do well half brother has raped and impregnated her.
In order to prevent Sonya's family from causing trouble for his own family, Kirby hastily decides to marry the underage high schooler, even though he knows her not at all.

It's hard to believe Cloud Nine could get any worse after this unconvincing lead in. But it does. Cain follows up with a couple additional plot elements that are even more preposterous.

The Postman Always Rings Twice and Cain's other early novels are classics because they reflect a hard edged reality the reader can easily buy into. Cloud Nine, though hard edged, seems to take place in an alternate universe where the actions of the characters defy any known behavioral norms. Not recommended
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