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264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
What A Surprise!
Wish I hadn't seen the movie first; might have given MILDRED PIERCE a higher rating. This classic novel starts out great, but often gets bogged down with minute details....and how different from the movie! Not the main storyline, of course, but certainly with regard to one major portion of the plot....and a somewhat hard-boiled (?) Mildred.
It's early 1930's when we first meet Bert and Mildred after the Great Depression has made its mark on a struggling society. The couple have two young children; Ray, a little sweetie-pie and Veda, an insolent little monster....who turns into a malicious big-mouth monster.
Everyone seems to know that Bert has a voluptuous mistress, with quite the unbound "dairy"....the reason for his home departure, so a desperate Mildred turns to what she knows best, baking pies....lots of pies as she simultaneously dotes on her older daughter Veda and offers up herself and her movie star perfect legs to more than one man of questionable character.
As the story evolves, Mildred knows she must find work to support her two girls....and her dreams for Veda, but tragedy shows its ugly face, and Mildred, at this point in the story, loses my respect when she makes a comment I still cannot believe!!!
Anyway, as Mildred finds success in providing for her family, she makes some big mistakes and the reader gets to experience a wide variety of snobbish, scheming, condescending characters, many with an air for the overdramatic....and there's violence too, but Veda, Oh. My. Gosh. Veda with her selfish outright hostility toward her "darling mother" truly takes the cake!
Overall, still enjoyed it but thought the Joan Crawford movie version was much better than the written word....this time around.
Update: May 25, 2020 - Okay....have now watched the HBO mini-series (thanks to Goodread's friend CHAR) and REALLY enjoyed it....the music, dress, furniture, vintage cars, and, of course, seeing the nasty foul-mouthed Veda in action. Characters were so well cast as was the whole shebang, BUT so wished they had used the ENTIRE 1945 storyline!