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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
3.0
It looks a lot more American than English. with gangster and all, the sort you might find in Pulp Fiction - no character has any morals whatsoever and there is a lot of sex and violence (You remember
Ezekiel's biblical verses? That kind of thing), and everything is stereotyped and cliche. This one is worth reading if only for Orwell's essay on same, in which he analyses the book and genre and argues that it is all about power-struggle and realism (big fish eats small fish, survival of the fittest kind of realism) without make-believe game of morality. There is no room for such stuff as compassion in most characters, Miss Blandish who suffers the most is dehumanized to a level at which her first name is never revealed. She is just used, just like a couple of other women are, in what is a big game of chess played by multiple players all men except one Ma Garrison - who is so clever and strong that she could be a feminist inspiration had she not been such a misogynist. One would argue that John Krammer and Joker (Heath Ledger one) are natural off-springs of this 'realism'. It somehow made it to Le monde list of 100 best books of the century and also inspired a movie, that has been unanimously called the worst movie ever by critics. I'm gonna watch it.
But let us talk about more important things. Have you ever lost consciousness upon being hit on the side of your head? Have you made anyone lose consciousness that particular way? Or saw anyone outside movies or books fainting because of that? From where did these crime novels get this idea? Try it, you will only start a fight. And So take it from expert, unless you have drugs or chemicals handy, it is easier to kill a person than make him/her lose consciousness. Believe me, I tell from personal experience
Ezekiel's biblical verses? That kind of thing), and everything is stereotyped and cliche. This one is worth reading if only for Orwell's essay on same, in which he analyses the book and genre and argues that it is all about power-struggle and realism (big fish eats small fish, survival of the fittest kind of realism) without make-believe game of morality. There is no room for such stuff as compassion in most characters, Miss Blandish who suffers the most is dehumanized to a level at which her first name is never revealed. She is just used, just like a couple of other women are, in what is a big game of chess played by multiple players all men except one Ma Garrison - who is so clever and strong that she could be a feminist inspiration had she not been such a misogynist. One would argue that John Krammer and Joker (Heath Ledger one) are natural off-springs of this 'realism'. It somehow made it to Le monde list of 100 best books of the century and also inspired a movie, that has been unanimously called the worst movie ever by critics. I'm gonna watch it.
But let us talk about more important things. Have you ever lost consciousness upon being hit on the side of your head? Have you made anyone lose consciousness that particular way? Or saw anyone outside movies or books fainting because of that? From where did these crime novels get this idea? Try it, you will only start a fight. And So take it from expert, unless you have drugs or chemicals handy, it is easier to kill a person than make him/her lose consciousness. Believe me, I tell from personal experience
lgpiper's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure why I picked this one up. I'd read another book my Chase a while back, and thought it was pretty awful. Not so this one. It was actually fairly good, given the genre. It's not Raymond Chandler, or even Dashiell Hammett, but still decent hard-boiled, noir detective fiction. I had no problems staying engaged. I'd give it 3*s +, were that allowed.
So, we have a gang of second-rate punks who decide to lift the diamond necklace of one Miss Blandish. Somehow they get stuck with Miss Blandish as well. But not for long. A higher-class gang of thugs disposes of the second-raters and snag Miss Blandish for themselves. After all, the diamond necklace is small potatoes, Miss Blandish should be worth a cool million in ransom.
The cops are all befuddled. They think Miss Blandish has been kidnapped by the second-rate punks, Riley and his gang, so go looking in all the wrong places. Riley and cohorts are actually well hidden in shallow graves.
But a former crime reporter, turned private eye, Dave Fenner, starts looking into things and begins to piece the strings together. Of course, there is lots of shooting and bodies pile up and so forth. It's also extraordinarily dark in that the not-quite-all-there Slim Grisson, son of Ma Grisson, the head of the higher-class gang, takes a fancy to Miss Blandish. They keep her drugged so he can spend time with her...or something.
One weird thing is that Slim Grisson liked watching TV. He had a 21-inch TV. Well, this book was written in 1939. There was barely any commercial TV until after World War II, i.e. a decade later. I don't believe that 21-inch TVs became common until the 1960s. I certainly don't remember such huge TVs in the early-to-mid 1950s, and I don't believe I got a TV that large until the mid 80s (also my first color TV). So, I have no idea how this makes sense. It's like the story was a 1930s period piece written in the 1980s by someone who had a lapse in his background research. It didn't spoil the story in any way, but it did seem rather weird to me.
So, we have a gang of second-rate punks who decide to lift the diamond necklace of one Miss Blandish. Somehow they get stuck with Miss Blandish as well. But not for long. A higher-class gang of thugs disposes of the second-raters and snag Miss Blandish for themselves. After all, the diamond necklace is small potatoes, Miss Blandish should be worth a cool million in ransom.
The cops are all befuddled. They think Miss Blandish has been kidnapped by the second-rate punks, Riley and his gang, so go looking in all the wrong places. Riley and cohorts are actually well hidden in shallow graves.
But a former crime reporter, turned private eye, Dave Fenner, starts looking into things and begins to piece the strings together. Of course, there is lots of shooting and bodies pile up and so forth. It's also extraordinarily dark in that the not-quite-all-there Slim Grisson, son of Ma Grisson, the head of the higher-class gang, takes a fancy to Miss Blandish. They keep her drugged so he can spend time with her...or something.
One weird thing is that Slim Grisson liked watching TV. He had a 21-inch TV. Well, this book was written in 1939. There was barely any commercial TV until after World War II, i.e. a decade later. I don't believe that 21-inch TVs became common until the 1960s. I certainly don't remember such huge TVs in the early-to-mid 1950s, and I don't believe I got a TV that large until the mid 80s (also my first color TV). So, I have no idea how this makes sense. It's like the story was a 1930s period piece written in the 1980s by someone who had a lapse in his background research. It didn't spoil the story in any way, but it did seem rather weird to me.
raj_page's review against another edition
5.0
For nearly half the length of the book, there is no hero.
There is just a damsel in distress and oh is her distress increasing or what!
Slim, the antagonist, the captive of Miss Blandish is a man to be feared
By the time Fenner is introduced, we are begging for a hero in this vile world that the author has created. But the first thought comes to our mind is, what can Fenner do, he's just a man whereas Slim is the demon.
It is the classical scenario of a hero saving the Damsel in Distress from the demon. But is saving enough? We can feel the trauma of Miss Blandish throughout the second half of the book
Personally, I could feel pain in the words. I could feel that the pain we feel in our mundane life is nothing compared to the pain of Miss Blandish near the end.
It is a must read for anyone who loves thrillers
There is just a damsel in distress and oh is her distress increasing or what!
Slim, the antagonist, the captive of Miss Blandish is a man to be feared
By the time Fenner is introduced, we are begging for a hero in this vile world that the author has created. But the first thought comes to our mind is, what can Fenner do, he's just a man whereas Slim is the demon.
It is the classical scenario of a hero saving the Damsel in Distress from the demon. But is saving enough? We can feel the trauma of Miss Blandish throughout the second half of the book
Personally, I could feel pain in the words. I could feel that the pain we feel in our mundane life is nothing compared to the pain of Miss Blandish near the end.
It is a must read for anyone who loves thrillers
ozielbispo's review against another edition
5.0
Agora entendo porque esse livro figura entres os 100 melhores do século XX em uma lista feita pelo jornal Francês Le Monde.
Miss Blandish herdeira de um milionário empresário , resolve ir a um clube com um amigo , ostentando um precioso colar de pérolas.
Na saída é sequestrada por um grupo que não era acostumado a se envolver com sequestros , com assuntos dessa magnitude, só com pequenos roubos e em pequenas cidades. Depois de muita investigação descobre se que um grupo de bandidos sanguinários se aproveitando da inexperiência desses, os elimina e assume o controle. O tempo todo a polícia investiga os bandidos errados, até que entra em cena o detetive particular Fenner que fora contratado pelo pai da moça para fazer uma investigação particular .A partir disso o livro se torna espetacular , envolvente , sem parar, num ritmo alucinante até seu desfecho final.
Um dos melhores livros que li esse ano.
Bandidos frios ,sanguinários, mãe e filho diabólicos , um pai desesperado, uma moça abusada física e psicologicamente uma corrida contra o tempo um livro eletrizante..! Abaixo uma pequena biografia de um dos piores bandidos do grupo"
"Slim Grisson era un asesino nato. Había matado de niño. Sin motivo alguno, sólo porque matar estaba en su sangre. Comenzó muy pronto, buscando dinero. Siempre fue muy perezoso en la escuela y rechazó todo lo que fuera interés por los libros. El viejo maestro que le tuvo a su cargo se sentía nervioso ante él. Comprendió en seguida que Slim era naturalmente malo. No le sorprendió encontrarle un día cortando en pedazos con unas tijeras a un gatito recién nacido."
Miss Blandish herdeira de um milionário empresário , resolve ir a um clube com um amigo , ostentando um precioso colar de pérolas.
Na saída é sequestrada por um grupo que não era acostumado a se envolver com sequestros , com assuntos dessa magnitude, só com pequenos roubos e em pequenas cidades. Depois de muita investigação descobre se que um grupo de bandidos sanguinários se aproveitando da inexperiência desses, os elimina e assume o controle. O tempo todo a polícia investiga os bandidos errados, até que entra em cena o detetive particular Fenner que fora contratado pelo pai da moça para fazer uma investigação particular .A partir disso o livro se torna espetacular , envolvente , sem parar, num ritmo alucinante até seu desfecho final.
Um dos melhores livros que li esse ano.
Bandidos frios ,sanguinários, mãe e filho diabólicos , um pai desesperado, uma moça abusada física e psicologicamente uma corrida contra o tempo um livro eletrizante..! Abaixo uma pequena biografia de um dos piores bandidos do grupo"
"Slim Grisson era un asesino nato. Había matado de niño. Sin motivo alguno, sólo porque matar estaba en su sangre. Comenzó muy pronto, buscando dinero. Siempre fue muy perezoso en la escuela y rechazó todo lo que fuera interés por los libros. El viejo maestro que le tuvo a su cargo se sentía nervioso ante él. Comprendió en seguida que Slim era naturalmente malo. No le sorprendió encontrarle un día cortando en pedazos con unas tijeras a un gatito recién nacido."
jude_library's review against another edition
2.0
Lectura para el grado de periodismo. A día de hoy sigo sin saber que es lo que he leído.
paul_cornelius's review against another edition
5.0
One of the few times a protagonist comes out okay at the end of a JHC novel. Ah, but who is the protagonist. That is really never clear until towards the end. The book has several potential candidates but either fools you or misdirects you. In a way, this is almost an early example of modernism being brought to the detective story. It was shocking when Hitchcock fooled his audiences in 1960, with Psycho. JHC anticipated him by more than 20 years. This work could be regarded as literature, instead of mere fiction, if people still make that a dividing line.
No Orchids also has a wonderful shifting perspective on events. Going from one character to another, JHC gives multiple sides to this story. And the final part almost reads like a film script, crosscutting from several scenes back and forth. Very cinematic. My regard for JHC increased after reading this book.
I do gather I read the revised and rewritten edition of No Orchids from 1962. That was obvious with the referrals to television sets in hotel rooms and apartments, something that would not have been there in the 1939 edition. In a way, however, I wanted to read the early 1939 edition, because I remember George Orwell's essay about the book when I read it in his collected works some 35 years ago. But there was also some insight gained because I had just read the second of JHC's novels, The Dead Stay Dumb, right before reading this one. The Dead Stay Dumb is much inferior work. This version of No Orchids displays a smoothness and maturity of dialogue that simply didn't exist in the second novel. It's the work of someone who has grown enormously from the The Dead Stay Dumb level of writing. Good novel.
No Orchids also has a wonderful shifting perspective on events. Going from one character to another, JHC gives multiple sides to this story. And the final part almost reads like a film script, crosscutting from several scenes back and forth. Very cinematic. My regard for JHC increased after reading this book.
I do gather I read the revised and rewritten edition of No Orchids from 1962. That was obvious with the referrals to television sets in hotel rooms and apartments, something that would not have been there in the 1939 edition. In a way, however, I wanted to read the early 1939 edition, because I remember George Orwell's essay about the book when I read it in his collected works some 35 years ago. But there was also some insight gained because I had just read the second of JHC's novels, The Dead Stay Dumb, right before reading this one. The Dead Stay Dumb is much inferior work. This version of No Orchids displays a smoothness and maturity of dialogue that simply didn't exist in the second novel. It's the work of someone who has grown enormously from the The Dead Stay Dumb level of writing. Good novel.
abhinandansridhar's review against another edition
4.0
My first James Hadley Chase. Pacy and memorable.
bundy23's review against another edition
3.0
It was okay. I reckon this level of sex and violence would've been pretty shocking in its day.
shirezu's review against another edition
4.0
This is a dark book. Full of violence this book is as grim as they come. Not as explicit as other writers I think it's actually made worse by the fact that everything is hinted at, kept just off-screen, so your mind has to fill in the horrible blanks.
I started this book late last night and as soon as I picked it up this morning I had to keep reading til it was over. Told in 3 parts the book switches between viewpoints as the story progresses. I wasn't expecting the book to suddenly go the angle it went. A quick, thrilling read. Though the ending was a bit predictable it's still worth reading.
I started this book late last night and as soon as I picked it up this morning I had to keep reading til it was over. Told in 3 parts the book switches between viewpoints as the story progresses. I wasn't expecting the book to suddenly go the angle it went. A quick, thrilling read. Though the ending was a bit predictable it's still worth reading.