The Wounded and the Slain

by David Goodis

Overview

THEIR VACATION IN PARADISE BECAME A DESCENT INTO HELL

Their marriage on the rocks, James and Cora Bevan flew to Jamaica for a last chance at patching things up. But in the slums of Kingston James found himself fighting for his life – while Cora found her own path to destruction, in the arms of another man.

Available for the first time in more than 50 years, this lost novel by legendary pulp author David Goodis is a stunning, shocking tale of cruelty, danger, desperation…and the possibility of redemption.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780857683755
Publisher:	Titan
Publication date:	03/29/2011
Series:	Hard Case Crime
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 6.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

David Goodis is one of the most enigmatic and acclaimed authors to come out of the world of pulp crime fiction. Goodis first rose to national attention with the novel Dark Passage, which was adapted as the classic film noir starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in 1947.  Other notable film adapatations of Goodis’ work include Shoot The Piano Player by Francois Truffaut .

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
This Hard Case Crime reissue marks the first publication in more than 50 years of this lost David Goodis (Dark Passage et al.) pulp noir classic. Fittingly called by editor extraordinaire Geoffrey O'Brien "a poet of the losers" for his angst-ridden, darkly lyrical prose and deeply flawed protagonists, Goodis creates an unforgettably dysfunctional -- and all but doomed -- couple in The Wounded and the Slain. James and Cora Bevan have been married for nine miserable years; and now, with their marriage on the rocks, they are vacationing in Jamaica in hopes of getting their relationship back on track. But the emotional baggage the two carry is immense: James is a suicidal alcoholic, and Cora is still trying to come to grips with a brutal sexual assault from her childhood. After watching Cora apparently flirt with a stranger poolside, James goes off on a rum-induced bender and ends up in one of the poorest, most dangerous neighborhoods in Kingston. He finds a dive bar and continues the process of drinking himself into oblivion. But a fight breaks out, and someone tries to rob him during the melee. He fights back and accidentally kills his assailant. When he stumbles back to his hotel room covered in blood, he finds his wreck of a life irrevocably changed… Although this unearthed pulp fiction classic is about as uplifting as a funeral dirge, readers will find it virtually impossible to put down this intensely atmospheric tale of betrayal, hopelessness, and, ultimately, unlikely salvation. Paul Goat Allen

Goodis is one of the great gritty pulp writers. This 1955 novel serves up the crumbling marriage of James and Nora Bevan, who travel to Jamaica to try to patch things up one last time before calling it quits. Once on the island, James finds himself fighting for his life while Nora grabs herself another man. This is the first reprint of this title since its original publication, so jump on it.

—Michael Rogers

Library Journal