Hard Rain Falling, I suppose would fall under the heading of classic noir. Don Gardner gives us a protagonist who can't get along with society, but it's clearly society's fault. Dumped in an orphanage as a baby, Jack Leavitt learns about life from within institutions, and he can't seem to get enough of them--including jails and prisons. Never have I read a more insightful accounting of the criminal mind this side of Les Edgerton's The Bitch and Just Like That.The difference between Gardner's Jack Leavitt, though, and Jake, Edgerton's protagonist is a combination of brains and insight. These two qualities enable him to eventually develop something of a conscience. Not that it does him much good. The same institutions that have been beating him down all his life beat him down again in the end. However, in the end, he's somehow not embittered. As far as I could tell. Gardner leaves the conclusion hanging.Whatever the case, this 1966 classic deserves a wider readership and a greater critical reputation. It's right up there with the best. A hard-edged tale about an orphan, Jack Levitt, who as an un-loved product of society goes through life angry with a chip on his shoulder and consistently manages to make the wrong choices every time. He can't be helped, because he can't help himself. Then after years of shallow development, most spent in prison, he is amazed to find it is possible to love someone more than himself. After some consideration he places the burden of his love on the least deserving person. That is the least likely to return any love or loyalty whatsoever. Again, it is a fail, because after all Jack is just a great big masochistic chump. But this is what I love about noire, and this book is heavy on the realism also, you just can't place your bets on a happy ending. All told a very well done novel from 1966. I like the author well enough to read a recent release "finished" by Jonathan Lethem, Fridays at Enrico's-April 2014.
Do You like book Sale Temps Pour Les Braves (1964)?
Too much introspection, too much internal dialogue. Wanted to like this book a lot more than I did.
—sommersday
Written with depth and brevity and never far from the heart.
—ana77onread
If I ever go to prison, i'll know just what to expect.
—Ayesha
