Descenso a los infiernos

by David Goodis

James Bevan se encuentra sumido en una profunda depresión. Es un hombre de honor, casi un caballero andante, pero el mundo que le rodea lo empuja hacia el desastre, y su único refugio es el alcohol. En un último intento de salir de esa ciénaga, Bevan viaja con su esposa a Jamaica para salvar un matrimonio que se ha convertido en un auténtico calvario. Sin embargo, en ese Descenso a los infiernos encontrará de pronto un objetivo para el honor, un motivo para volver a empezar. Pero antes, deberá matar a un hombre...

Genres: Noir, Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Pulp, Thriller, Novels

209 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

Born and bred in Philadelphia, David Goodis was an American noir fiction writer. He grew up in a liberal, Jewish household in which his early literary ambitions were encouraged. After a short and inconclusive spell at Indiana University, he returned to Philadelphia to take a degree in journalism, graduating in 1937.

Reviews

[Francesc · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Bevan y su mujer, Cora, hacen un viaje a Jamaica para intentar arreglar su matrimonio. Él bebe demasiado y ella no le hace caso.
Seguimos a James en sus visitas alcohólicas por las calles y bares de Jamaica. Su camino hacia la autodestrucción está a punto de llegar. Algo pasa durante este camino que le hace replantearse su vida. Hay una muerte que afectará al matrimonio y que los conducirá hasta los bajos fondos jamaicanos. Mientras tanto, también vamos conociendo la historia de Cora y el porqué se comporta así con su marido.
La trama en sí misma es la historia del matrimonio y, sobre todo, las borracheras de James. Poco a poco, los vamos conociendo y entrando en sus vidas.
Al principio, los he odiado a los dos, pero, despacio, he ido apreciando sus vidas, sus motivos, sus dudas.
Una lectura que te deja cansado. Al no haber un motivo principal, la lectura es lenta, aunque está muy bien escrito. Las descripciones, como escribe sobre el amor, la luna, los monólogos interiores, son muy buenos, pero le falla la trama que no te engancha.

-----------------------

James Bevan and his wife, Cora, take a trip to Jamaica to try to repair their marriage. He drinks too much and she ignores him.
We follow James on his alcoholic visits to the streets and bars of Jamaica. His road to self-destruction is about to come. Something happens along the way that makes him rethink his life. There is a death that will affect the marriage and lead them to the Jamaican underworld. Meanwhile, we also get to know Cora's story and why she behaves this way towards her husband.
The plot itself is the story of the marriage and, above all, James' drunkenness. Little by little, we get to know them and their lives.
At first, I hated them both, but slowly I came to appreciate their lives, their motives, their doubts.
A tiring read. The lack of a main motive makes it a slow read, although it is very well written. The descriptions, the way he writes about love, the moon, the inner monologues, are very good, but the plot fails to hook you.

[Richard · Rating 2 out of 5]

*2.5 Stars*

At the other end of the bar they were having a good time, talking pleasantly with some energetic laughter thrown in. He tried to hate them because they were enjoying themselves. He collected some hate, aimed it, and tossed it, then knew right away it was just a boomerang. There was no one to hate but himself.

It's hard to believe that David Goodis could get any more depressing than he's already been in his other books I've read so far, but this one takes the cake to date. Written during the last leg of his career, This book introduces us to the sad couple James and Cora Bevan, dropping us right into their marriage, as they try to mend it while on holiday in a Jamaican resort. James is an insomniac, suicidal, impotent alcoholic who drinks all day because he can't seem to get his wiife to enjoy sex with him, and Cora might have a history of abuse in her past and also still struggles with her sexual dysfunction. She seems to have some hidden desires to get roughed up by a hairy man, and James doesn't do that for her. A series of adventures in the Jamaican slum outside of the hotel might change things.

Unfortunately, although the novel still sported Goodis's fascinating and poetic prose that I've come to love and the story could've been pretty interesting, this one was a hard one to get through. I really liked the flashbacks and it has a great first chapter. But eventually, it felt like he was trying a bit to hard in his writing and characterizations, and many times, it just came out as rambling, repetitive, and on-the-nose, and the attempt to write in Jamaican patois was just awkward. And man, was the dialogue plodding! But the biggest reason why it was so difficult to read was because of the character of James. Now I understand that noir usually features so pretty unlikeable characters, but James was ridiculous! Talk about a dick! He was so annoying with all of his self-pitying and being a constant downer in every conversation he had. I just couldn't take it sometimes and just put the book down on many occasions. The best part was the James/Cora backstory and their relationship, I wish that was focused on a bit more. The story is pretty similar to Street Of No Return (which was written a year before this one), where a man that's hit rock bottom, travels through the gutter for redemption, but was done a lot better in that previous novel, and the protagonist was a lot more engaging.

Whew, this one was a downer! I think I'll read some Hap and Leonard now as a pick me up! Goodis is still one of my favorite novelists, he seemed like he bled his demons out onto the page, or at least got wine-drunk and threw up all over it, and I love continuing to make my way through his fascinating work.

What I think this calls for is a gin and tonic. Or it might be a good idea to fill a swimming pool with gin and just dive in. But gin doesn't quite fit this mood. What would you say fit this mood? The diving part of it is fine. Let's make it a high dive, say a few hundred feet up with rocks at the bottom, a collection of nice sharp rocks.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Goodis was the noir poet of Philadelphia. His books are known for being dark, dreary, tales of a man all alone, perhaps accused or suspected of a crime, with what seems like half a city against him, as he falls further and further into the muck and mire to escape the hoods that are after him. His books are nearly always top-notch. "The Wounded and The Slain," although it deals with depression, angst, unhappiness, bitterness, and the like, somehow feels a bit brighter than most of Goodis' work. Perhaps that is because of the setting, which, for most of the book, takes place in Jamaica at a beach resort. Perhaps his writing is a bit livelier here. This work is easily approachable and easily read in one or two sittings.
James and Cora Bevin are an unhappily married couple who live in New York City. She is frigid. He is unhappy and has turned first to prostitutes and then to the bottle and then to pyschoanalysis. They are both bitterly unhappy with each other and with their lives and yet have never managed to quit each other. Goodis does an excellent job of capturing their history and background in a short chapter. They are in Jamaica for a change of scenery, a chance to recapture their early romance, the spark which has long since disappeared.

Goodis really captures James' angst, his wallowing in self-pity, his drowning himself in bottle after bottle of rum, while Cora never wants to leave the room and is embarressed time and again by James' drunken performances at the hotel. She finds herself attracted to a stranger who aims to take her away from James and James senses it and seems ready to let her go. He heads into the Kingston slums to find another bar, to drown himself, to lose himself. He is admittedly suicidal at times and perhaps he's thinking he will get mugged and it will be all over.

But James and Cora are not the horrible people the publisher's blurb would lead you to believe. They are both basically decent but troubled people. The book contains streams of consciousness from both and their inner conversations will lead the reader to wonder which, if either, is sane and which will have a complete nervous breakdown.

James does something in the slums. He at first tries to walk away from it, but his conscience forces him to come to terms with it and there is a point at which this flawed being finds redemption. Throughout it all, though, you never know when James will just give up and drown in the muck and the mire.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

James and Cora Bevan go to Jamaica in an effort to repair their ailing marriage. Instead, their marriage undergoes more stress than ever when James accidentally kills a man and Cora finds solace in the arms of another. Can they put their marriage back together before Jamaica manages to destroy it forever?

This book sure is a downer. While it's well written, the whole thing is unsettling, much like Lawrence Block's A Diet of Treacle. James's alcoholic benders and Cora's temptation are well done. You feel for Cora but still aren't that enamored with her as a person, not until the end. Once James tries to pull together to save a man who's going to hang in his place, you really get behind him. The ambiguous ending was a very nice touch.

While not a cheerful book, I'd say The Wounded and the Slain is a well-written one, and a fairly powerful one for a book of its kind. While it looks like a crime book from the outside, at its core it's a study in psychological trauma and self-destructive behavior. Not what I normally look for in a Hard Case but still good.

[Jack Tripper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite the depressing read, but does an excellent job exploring the deteriorating marriage of an American couple vacationing in Jamaica in the hopes it will provide some sort of "spark." While Cora spends her days either holed up in their room or enjoying the flirtations of another man staying at the hotel, James spends the majority of his days and nights with a secret death wish, exploring the seedier side of Kingston and drinking himself into a stupor in order to try and forget his failing marriage.

Even though that's the entirety of the plot for the much of the novel, I was kept fully invested in their lives, and really cared what happened to them when their vacation turns into a living nightmare in later chapters. The characterization is very good, and Goodis fully captures the personalities and faults of these characters so that there's no question from the reader as to why this couple are in the situation they're in, and this complexity, combined with the vivid descriptions of inner-city Kingston, was a refreshing change of pace from the typical noir novel.

4.0 Stars

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Goodis was the noir poet of Philadelphia. His books are known for being dark, dreary, tales of a man all alone, perhaps accused or suspected of a crime, with what seems like half a city against him, as he falls further and further into the muck and mire to escape the hoods that are after him. His books are nearly always top-notch. "The Wounded and The Slain," although it deals with depression, angst, unhappiness, bitterness, and the like, somehow feels a bit brighter than most of Goodis' work. Perhaps that is because of the setting, which, for most of the book, takes place in Jamaica at a beach resort. Perhaps his writing is a bit livelier here. This work is easily approachable and easily read in one or two sittings.

James and Cora Bevin are an unhappily married couple who live in New York City. She is frigid. He is unhappy and has turned first to prostitutes and then to the bottle and then to pyschoanalysis. They are both bitterly unhappy with each other and with their lives and yet have never managed to quit each other. Goodis does an excellent job of capturing their history and background in a short chapter. They are in Jamaica for a change of scenery, a chance to recapture their early romance, the spark which has long since disappeared.

Goodis really captures James' angst, his wallowing in self-pity, his drowning himself in bottle after bottle of rum, while Cora never wants to leave the room and is embarressed time and again by James' drunken performances at the hotel. She finds herself attracted to a stranger who aims to take her away from James and James senses it and seems ready to let her go. He heads into the Kingston slums to find another bar, to drown himself, to lose himself. He is admittedly suicidal at times and perhaps he's thinking he will get mugged and it will be all over.

But James and Cora are not the horrible people the publisher's blurb would lead you to believe. They are both basically decent but troubled people. The book contains streams of consciousness from both and their inner conversations will lead the reader to wonder which, if either, is sane and which will have a complete nervous breakdown.

James does something in the slums. He at first tries to walk away from it, but his conscience forces him to come to terms with it and there is a point at which this flawed being finds redemption. Throughout it all, though, you never know when James will just give up and drown in the muck and the mire.

[Toby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of his better attempts to subtly examine the depths of the human soul, full of wonderful insights but ruined by multiple painfully earnest observations that are far too on the nose to be worth anything more than teenage poetry. Throwing hate at happy people? Great. Knowing that it's a boomerang coming straight back at you? Sure, I guess. Outright stating that there was nobody to hate but himself? Not necessary, the previous coupling did that for you. It's set in Jamaica, and all of the natives are either well spoken and proud members of the British Empire's servant class or dem mon who me tink speak like zis mon, holy racial cliche batman! And yet there's a perfect example of what makes Goodis so good when he is on form; the alcoholic protagonist's backstory of ecstasy and agony something that could have stood being examined further and from his lovers' point of view in a longer form in a more interesting novel. This hadn't been republished in over fifty years when Hard Case Crime put it out in 2007 and you can sort of see why, but bringing these lost pulps back to any kind of audience is a worthy goal just the same.

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noir In Jamaica

David Goodis' 1955 paperback pulp novel, "The Wounded and the Slain" explores the search for meaning and redemption in a life filled with self-centeredness and self-loathing. The book differs from most of Goodis' (1917 -- 1967) paperback originals written after 1950 when he returned to his native Philadelphia. The story is set in Kingston, Jamaica and in New York City rather than on Philadelphia streets. In addition the two major characters in the book are educated and comfortably middle class, rather than the low life characters that predominate in Goodis' other writings.

The book explores the relationship between James and Cora Bevan who have been married for nine years as the story begins. James, 37, works in investments on Wall Street and is a Yale graduate. Cora,29,is the product of a privileged upper-middle class family and has attended finishing schools followed by an Ivy-league woman's college. Cora is sexually frigid and rejecting. James begins seeing a prostitute, Lita, and the two become emotionally involved. Lita kills herself when James breaks off the affair. James falls into impotence and heavy drinking. James and Cora take a vacation to an elegant tourist hotel in Kingston to attempt to recover their lives and marriage.

The book contrasts the near-paradisical character of the Laurel Rock tourist hotel with the squalor and depravity of the Kinston slums just outside the gates. James has suicidal thoughts and continues to drink while Cora is approached by another man. In his depression, James wanders into the slums, gets into a fight in self-defense and accidentally kills his attacker. The immediate result is to intensify is feelings of physical and emotional impotence. Goodis' writing shifts frequently from third-person omniscent narration to a stream-of-conscious style inside a character's mind. Thus, Goodis has James reflect upon his condition as follows:

"So if we can't do it one way, we do it another. Some of us go to private showing of contraband cinema. And some go for live showings where the admission is fifteen dollars and up. But that's too unsanitary for most of us. Most of us try very hard to be sanitary, or call it gentlemanly, call it anything you like, it's nevertheless a sham, a falsity. So it's always Halloween in this league; there isn't a single maneuver that's genuine. On the surface, you cut his throat in self-defense, and under the surface, under all the rum and the silliness, your mood was homicidal. Now go head and try to deny that."

The force of the book derives from Goodis' portrayal of the depths of slum life, in characters and places, and of the depths of James' misery. Through a series of experiences in the slums, James, and Cora as well, move from self-pity and hopelessness, to at least a glimpse of an understanding of a meaningful, compassionate life, with concern for others.

The seriousness of the themes and the descriptions of places and inner lives of the characters set Goodis' writings apart from mere genre fiction. "The Wounded and the Slain" was forgotten for more than fifty years after its first publication until it was reissued in this 2007 paperback. Earlier in 2012, the Library of America published a collection of five Goodis novels (not including this book) from the 1940's and 1950's, "David Goodis: Five Noir Novels of the 1940s and 50s (Library of America)", which should bring his works deserved recognition and widespread readership. Readers who want to explore the depths that noir can reach in the hands of a gifted writer will want to read the novels of David Goodis.

Robin Friedman

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WOUNDED AND THE SLAIN exemplifies the derailment of human decency as a subsequent of vice and childhood induced trauma. In James and Cora Bevan, Goodis creates a pair of dysfunctional lovers tainted by their past and victimised by their future. For James, the consummate alcoholic, the amber liquid serves as a means to rid the reminders that hold true his reality; a hopeless sense of foreboding, crippling depression, a sham of a marriage to an almost trophy wife without perk, and a need to experiment in self obliteration. For Cora, her past dictates her every movement, life is one great horror movie, every man hides behind sinister and dirty motives, ones the threaten to soil her very core.

Goodis writes the alcoholic induced protagonist to perfection. Much like STREET OF NO RETURN, the vice provides the key to the leads chemical make-up, building character (for good and bad) and driving the sordid tale.

Set amongst contrasting locales in Jamaica, THE WOUNDED AND THE SLAIN provides equal billing to the desirable and undesirable alike. The slums are without hope, an emotionally desolate place of structures where criminality is commonplace - whereas the fine hotel where the Bevan’s are situated is all tourist guide perfection – sunshine and a healthy lifestyle. This does well to enhance the Bevan’s facade’, a circle that doesn’t fit inside a square.

I’ve read THE WOUNDED AND THE SLAIN twice now and am still drawn to the raw feeling of depression and complex nature of the Bevan’s. As a couple and as individuals they are hopelessly flawed yet both provide glimpses of redeeming qualities as the story progresses, all it takes is a little blood and the realisation of a harsh truth.

THE WOUNDED AND THE SLAIN is one of my favourite Goodis noir novels and perhaps the truest to the overall feeling of noir. It’s bleak, grey, unnerving, and true grit. There are no bells and whistles in this tale – just an easily believable plot and smart story telling. 5 stars.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more remarkable first chapters in the noir genre. The first paragraph begins with the as yet unnamed focal character considering suicide. As we flip from page one to page two we have this: “At the other end of the bar they were having a good time, talking pleasantly with some energetic laughter thrown in. He tried to hate them because they were enjoying themselves. He collected some hate, aimed it, tossed it, then knew right away it was just a boomerang. There was no one to hate but himself.” He is Bevan, drowning in self-pity and alcohol, and we learn him with a narrative point-of-view that alternates between close third and second person. This narrative approach becomes quite stunning as Goodis introduces Cora, Bevan’s wife, and treats us to the same alternating close third and second person treatment of her, which is juiced up by her seeming schizophrenic second person voice. As the first chapter winds down Bevan is falling down drunk in the bar trying to pick a fight with a guy who comes to help Cora get Bevan out of the bar. The second chapter is Bevan’s back story. He marries young Cora but it turns out she is not interested in sex so Bevan takes up with a hooker, gets found out and trades the hooker in for booze, and races towards alcoholism to the point where a change of scenery is suggested to him by a neurologist. Cue chapter three, the morning after in Kingston, Jamaica and the beginning of a descent that immediately brings to mind Malcom Lowry’s Under the Volcano, published in 1947 and a work Goodis surely would have known. Goodis’ prose is a bit ragged when describing action scenes like the bar fight, but he is at his mesmerizing best when narrating from within the soul-tortured heads of Bevan and Cora.

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Goodis specializes in a character (usually a male) who starts off with very little, and then he gets worse. Almost poetically underworld worse. In many ways it is actual hell on earth, but on the other hand the character is always rushing to get to the gates of hell. just to taste the flicker of a flavour of misery.

There is a strong S&M aspect to his fiction, and "The Wounded and The Slain" is no different from his other works. Which is excellent. Here we have a man, a husband of sorts, who is tasting the guilt, shame, and misery of being alive in a situation where he loves his wife, yet the relationship is going nowhere. A vacation leads the misery to come up to the surface, and then a crime.... Perfect Goodis world.

Also it is great that a smallish publishing house (Hard Case Crime) put out this book that I wasn't aware of - and I am a huge Goodis fan. Thanks to Devri for putting this book in my hand.

[Guillermo Galvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Wounded and the Slain is a book about emotional-sexual dysfunction and suicidal alcoholism. The story revolves around a married couple, two severe headcases, that take a vacation to beautiful Jamaica. Their resort is an island of sanity in a slum ocean. The husband decides to taken a drunken stroll into town, and the story takes off from there.

There is plenty of self-loathing and nihilism woven with comic desperation to make this a bi-polar novel. The extremes don't jumble over each other thanks to Goodis's velvet smooth writing style. The characters have strong psychological impact upon a solid plot that was believable and engrossing. The dialogue is prime pulp quality. I especially commend Goodis for effectively writing conversations between the American and Jamaican characters.

This book isn't racist, it's brutally honest about the Jamaican's living conditions in crushing poverty. This book takes you deep inside the dirty, crime infested slums. The culture clash is brilliantly materialized by a simple wall surrounding the vacation resort. The sociological dynamics are alive throughout the entire book.

All that and a fascinating main character makes this book a five star read.

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kingston, Jamaica, the early 1950s (this book came out in '55). A walled-in resort hotel is surrounded by slums. American couple dealing with frigidity and severe alcoholism. Tragic and sad. At times it seemed like it would be a good book, but then it wasn't.

[Alex Budris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiritual isolation. Alcoholism. Infidelity. Deception. Murder...

Noir.

In my opinion, much scarier than most horror fiction. These are true-to-life people - Nothing supernatural, extraterrestrial, or ultradimensional here. Men and women with real flaws being ground-up by Time and Fate.

"It's just a merry-go-round that stops now and then for some to get off... Your place is taken by the next customer emerging from the womb... It's merely the process of being taken for a ride... The windup is a hole in the ground..." (pg 180)

James has to give up on everything before it occurs to him to do the thing he has yet to consider... the Right Thing...

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed. I'd heard a lot about David Goodis and this was the first book by him I've read. I wasn't impressed and don't have any plans currently to read any more. This was billed as a Noir/crime novel but I'd classify it as largely a romance. There is one criminal act shown in the book, and the plot does turn in part on it. What the story is really about though is a marriage on the rocks. A man is drinking himself into oblivion because his wife is frigid. He loves his wife and she loves him, but something in her childhood is what is making her frigid. We do get all that resolved at the end.

The book is almost all introspection. There's a huge amount of internal monologue, and part of my problem is that much of that monologue didn't seem very realistic to me. At least in this book, Goodis doesn't seem to have much of a feel for the way real people think and act. I see others have enjoyed the book and it was well enough written for what it was. Just not my cup of tea.

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

110112: this is a different one by goodis, though as usual it starts out with characters already fated lost or losing, but here the first person narrative is from the man’s perspective then the woman’s. both sympathetic characters, mostly, but the woman’s voice disappears for a long middle section, before returning with insight of particularly traumatic psychological episode maybe more surprising when it was written- 1955 or so. you want things to work out for them- together- but if you have read goodis before you suspect it won’t. voices, actions, very dark humour, keep up the tension for this longest work, which he might have shortened if he had lived. but maybe not. read in one sitting, so obviously easy to read...

[Oliver Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was just exceptional. An utterly gripping tale of despair and determination. Beautifully written and yet so grimy and dark it makes you itch.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an odd experience reading this book was. The plot revolves around a dysfunctional couple from the United States taking a vacation in Jamaica to repair their failing marriage... only to find both halves cheating on each other, then the husband getting into a lethal streetfight in the wrong side of Kingston. Even that is before things really, really go downhill! It is not often you find such a streak of relentless bleakness running through a story without ever veering into misanthropy, and even managing to at the end pull off a convincing arc of redemption for a pair of protagonists who have spent the entire story getting the cards stacked completely against their favour.

As you can imagine, the central moral conflicts in the story become extremely complex and David Goodis avoids making any side in it into a "bad guy". While the main characters' behaviour for most of the story is not to be admired, it becomes clear why they only snap out of that course at last when there is no other alternative left. The one character who comes closest is a con artist trying to profit off the situation, yet he's revealed at the end to be less evil than dangerously naïve about the ethical implications of what he's doing. Goodis also uses the Jamaican setting in ways that are not just interesting but well thought-out thematically, with the culture clashes between the American tourists and the local population playing a huge role in why things get as bad as they do. He also manages to put in some biting but nuanced commentary on the oldschool colonialism whose dismantling had just begun at the time he wrote the novel.

So, why only 3 stars? From the description above, it should be a 4 or even a 5... but several major issues with the storytelling prevents "The Wounded and the Slain" from realizing its full potential. The first is the awkward plot structure. Not just does the above described storyline only get into motion halfways through the pagecount, but the leading lady's extramarital affair is never tied into the husband's story in a satisfying manner and is resolved in a way that gives the impression Goodis didn't know how to end it. Furthermore, Goodis' prose style is extremely frustrating despite his obvious talent in this department. He switches between a strict descriptive third-person narrative to elaborate stream-of-consciousness expounding on the characters' inner thought, and the contrast between the two comes across as jarring in a way the author in all likelyhood did not design it for. Neither does it help that Goodis does not follow the "show don't tell" principle at all.

I do find this novel worth reading, even powerful, I just can't recommend it without the lengthy list of reservations I just rattled off. Somehow I'm not surprised this was out of print for 50 years, but in it Goodis shows obvious strengths as an author and I'm curious about his more popular works now. After reading this novel I watched the film adaptation of "Dark Passage", which he wrote the script for and quite impressed me.

[Richard Bon · Rating 1 out of 5]

After giving five stars to the only other Goodis I've read, I couldn't have given The Wounded and the Slain any more than one, and as much as it suffered by comparison to Shoot the Piano Player, I'm pretty sure I would've rated it the same way if I'd read it first. In fact, I'm thankful that I've already read Shoot the Piano Player because I might not have even given it a shot if I'd first stumbled upon a copy of The Wounded and the Slain.

Though I'm sure it's not fun for a man whose wife never, ever wants to have sex with him, James Bevan's fall strikes me as a bit extreme. One of the only parts of this book I enjoyed was Bevan's brief affair with Lita, and I understand why the fallout of his relationship with her would leave him in a bad way, but the extent of his self-destructive behavior on a Jamaican vacation with his wife just wasn't believable to me.

What fully ruined the book for me was it's conclusion, the last twenty to thirty or so pages. Goodis weakly introduces new characters in the form of flashbacks and side stories without developing them, and then makes them central to the forces behind everything in the novel up to that point. Without recounting exactly what we learn (though "spoiling" this book for people would be doing them a favor, and I of course don't recommend that anyone read it), Goodis introduces the rape of a nine year old girl, an attempted rape of the same character as an adult, and how her successful defense against the attempted rape is such an enjoyable event for her (I'm not making this up) that it heals her of the damage she's long suffered since being raped at age nine. All of this rape related writing insulted me as a reader, like some sort of twisted, misguided deus ex machina.

I might still try another Goodis just because he's from Philly and I loved Shoot the Piano Player (maybe I should stick to novels he wrote that are set in Philly?), but this one stunk.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a subscription to the monthly Hard Case Crime book series, and most of them are disappointing. David Goodis, on the other hand never disappoints, even when he's running on one piston like he did on "The Blonde On The Street Corner" or "Of Tender Sin". This one's better than those two, but it's still a little shaky.
Goodis makes the action take place in Jamaica rather than in his native Philadelphia, and it works fine, but some of the situations don't ring true. The wife seems awfully loyal to her husband even though he's abusive to her and she's glacial to him, anyway. The husband doesn't seem to be very likable, either, and drinks at a rate I can't imagine to resemble mortal habit. I mean, he never sleeps or passes out. He's Superdrunk!
But like I said, Goodis has written worse and Hard Case Crime has released worse (like that Mickey Spillane nightmare, and skip the terrible Ms. Tree novel).

[Andre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew that Jamaica, the land of sun, rum and reggae could turn into such a dark and terrible setting for holiday makers James and Cora Bevin?
The couple have been married for a number of years but between them is a deep misunderstanding of their needs, thoughts and desires. James drinks each day and basically never stops until he collapses. He develops a death-wish and ventures into the slum areas of Kingston only to become involved in a barfight and subsequent murder.
What an excellent novel by David Goodis and what a great addition to the Hard Case Crime stable. Well done to Charles Ardai for selecting these great novels. Definitely a 5-star rating.

[PinkieBrown · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excruciatingly dirty book; bordering on an exercise in "how low can you go?" The resolution to take his characters into the gutter and lower is admirable perhaps more than it is entertaining. It's the sheer pulpiness, lost in a 40s/50s mire that was so enjoyable. Also, Goodis presents masters of the universe people lost in their own hell, one purely of their own design and manufacture. That's a unique cool take, somewhere beyond Jim Thompson's brand of evil; just ordinary folk destroyed by the thoughts in their heads. I am as compelled to keep reading about Goodis' characters as he seems to have been compelled to write them.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was a reason that this book wasn't reprinted for over fifty years. While Goodis is a writer of superior skills, this title does not approach the quality of other Goodis works such as Shoot the Piano Player, Dark Passage, or Cassidy's Girl.

[Lukas Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mmm, pulpy.

[Arantxa Rufo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melancólica, depresiva, desesperada y magnífica. Dividida en dos partes claras, en ambasvamos saltando de los pensamientos en primera persona entre los miembros de una pareja que se resquebraja. En la primera, un viaje a Jamaica debería ser la excusa para reencontrarse y, sin embargo, se convierte en ese infierno personal al que ambos deben enfrentarse por separado si quieren volver a estar juntos. ¿Se quieren aún? ¿Qué sienten por el otro? ¿Y qué sienten hacia sí mismos? ¿Acaso se conocen?
En la segunda mitad, vivimos 4l auténtico descenso a los infiernos con el marido, en una noche de borrachera que acaba fatal y que le obligará a decidir, de una vez por todas, qué clase de hombre es.

👍 El ambiente general de tristeza, depresión y abandono de los sueños de todos los personajes.
👍 La constante confrontación entre los puntos de vista de ambos protagonistas.
👍 El modo de saltar de uno a otro.
👍 El realismo de las emociones descritas.
👍 El diálogo interior de cada personaje consigo mismo.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A down and out guy reveling in depression finds himself in Jamaica with his frustrated wife. All goes downhill from there. Noir certainly fits this tale. Problem after problem after problem occurs. The ending is disappointing and humor is exempt.

The writing of the characters is nearly the soul focus of the books. Interaction tends to be severe and then back to character studies. This is all done very, very well. As it should considering how many pages the author devotes to the effort. Though there is a story of sorts, that is drawn waaaaay out as more and more character reflection occurs. Much all of it unneeded and repetitive.

If you just want to read about characters, here's a book. If looking for a good story, this isn't it.

Bottom line: I don't recommend this book. 4 out of ten points.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A couple goes to Jamaica to salvage their failing marriage, which turns into a dangerous walk on the wild side.

Mystery Review: The Wounded and the Slain is ambitious, a novel that wants to fit into that lurid nether world between crime and straight fiction, like a low-calorie version of The Bonfire of the Vanities. David Goodis (1917-67) examines what happens when the unthinkable intrudes on everyday life, when that everyday life consists of an alcoholic husband and a traumatized wife. The Wounded and the Slain is an odd sort of walk on the wild side, a venture into the unknown, only here the unknown is Jamaica where a married couple go to save their almost crumbled, wholly uncommunicative nine-year marriage. The story is alternately told by the wife and husband. He a straying and committed and eager drunk, rapidly losing touch with any logic in the world -- "To do anything logically was too much of an effort ... it was nothing more than a blindfold that covered the inner eye." She guilt-ridden, haunted by repressed childhood memories (which Goodis also touched on in Of Tender Sin (1952)). They both find alternatives and options in Kingston, one in the swanky, walled resort, the other in the violent slums. Eventually both risk their lives trying to do what they think is right. Not a mystery (though a death occurs), more a seamy slice of life Nelson Algren-style. When readers cite hard-boiled novels as angsty and existential, The Wounded and the Slain is what they're talking about. Just enough thoughtful moments to let the reader think: "In prison the art of wrongdoing has many professors." A taste of what might happen when one gives up on everything. The ending is just hard-edged enough to comfortably fit with the rest of the book. [3½★]

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although he is classified as a writer of crime fiction ("hardboiled" crime fiction) or noir fiction, this book is very akin to Jim Thompson's output. These books don't rely so much on plot and storytelling as they do on the characters, who are typically disturbed --- alcoholics, grifters, sociopaths, psychopaths --- and their inner narratives. In the Wounded and the Slain, we have a couple trying to salvage a marriage on the rocks via a trip to Jamaica, where they both work hard on their separate paths to destruction. Not an enjoyable journey -- I prefer other crime writers such as Leonard or Mcdonald who get you a story you can sink your teeth into.

[Rodger Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's definitely a '50s novel, with dated ideas about psychology, trauma, and marriage. None of the characters are particularly likeable and the subplots and details are often clichéd and distracting. It was somewhat disappointing.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many married people, James and Cora Bevan look to be the perfect couple, him an advertising executive at a good New York firm with a promising future, her a bright and beautiful blonde from a good family will all the attributes of a successful socialite. Unfortunately, as is often the case with perfect marriages, all is not what it seems to be. James is becoming increasingly distraught and erratic, is engaging in self-destructive behavior, is beset by long bouts of the blackest depression, and is quickly drinking all their money away, well on his way to alcoholism. As for Cora, despite her looks and the way she learned to act towards men at finishing school (where the real goal was not to obtain an education but to learn how to attract a husband who wasn't worthless, as so many men are), she has never been able to maintain an emotional or sexual relationship with James during their decade of marriage, the result of a trauma in her childhood, seated so deeply in her psyche that she has never been able to come to grips with it, to even admit it to herself. Their marriage on the rocks, with James his nerves shot and seeing everything as the result of his failure alone, James' discouraged and frustrated neurologist makes a last ditch and desperate suggestion, that they get away from New York and seek a calm and soothing vacation spot. From the travel brochures, it seems that Kingston, Jamaica is, quite literally, just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately for James and Cora, the demons that are destroying them and their marriage dwell within them, and wherever they so, so do their demons, and travel brochures rarely tell the truth.

My friend, Brian Ritt, noted in his book "Paperback Confidential" (best book I own about the men and women who wrote paperback originals in the 50s and 60s) that David Goodis did not write novels but suicide notes. With "The Wounded and the Slain," it's hard to counter that idea. Written in 1955, the book fits into that part of Goodis' life when the glitz of Hollywood was behind him, he no longer posed for photos between Bogart and Bacall, and he had settled into writing about men who destroyed their careers, even as they strove to save others, and women who were either fragile and anorexic or obese and domineering. In that sense, "The Wounded and the Slain" would appear to fit the mold, with James struggling for his life and for the life of a wrongly accused man in the black ghettos (black in terms of both emotion, despair and race)of Kingston, where people come to realize that this shattered hopeless demon-ridden man is one of them, even if he is white. And the fragile and emotionally stunted Cora also seems an authentic child of Goodis, helpless to rescue James even as she is confronted by a "real man" (by mid-century standards) at their vacation hotel.

The fascination of reading a book like this stems from the same part of our mind activated when we pass by an auto accident. We don't want to look, we are afraid of what we might see, and we know that we ourselves are not victims of that accident only through blind chance, and yet we look. We linger. We drive slowly and rubberneck. We gawk and gape. And yet we're not really looking to see the bodies, the blood, the mangled limbs; like a current car commercial making the rounds on television portrays, we want to look at an accident, no matter how bad, and be told, "They lived." As is hardwired into our nature, we are all looking for redemption, and, ultimately, no matter how bad things get for James and Cora (and they get worse than you can imagine), we're looking for the author to offer them (and us) a path out of the deep forest, a way into the light, a glimmer of hope that redemption is never totally unobtainable.