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The Root of His Evil
While slinging hash in a diner, a would-be Cinderella meets her Prince Charming
Carrie Selden is not at all like the woman you’ve read about in the papers. Though she was raised in an orphanage, she isn’t an orphan. She didn’t finish high school until she was nineteen, but that was because she was working as a waitress, not because she was slow. And though she’s very cunning, well, she’s no femme fatale. But her beauty . . . oh yes, her beauty is everything you’ve heard.
At twenty-one, she takes her savings and moves to New York City, landing a job at a diner called Karb’s, at the bottom rung of the restaurant chain’s tall corporate ladder. Though she makes minimum wage, Carrie is savvy, and it isn’t long before she starts to climb. When her coworkers unionize, they choose her as president, and from there, the sky is the limit. But just as the union gets underway, she meets a mysterious intellectual named Grant—who will either help her rise to the top, or drag her straight down to hell.
Carrie Selden is not at all like the woman you’ve read about in the papers. Though she was raised in an orphanage, she isn’t an orphan. She didn’t finish high school until she was nineteen, but that was because she was working as a waitress, not because she was slow. And though she’s very cunning, well, she’s no femme fatale. But her beauty . . . oh yes, her beauty is everything you’ve heard.
At twenty-one, she takes her savings and moves to New York City, landing a job at a diner called Karb’s, at the bottom rung of the restaurant chain’s tall corporate ladder. Though she makes minimum wage, Carrie is savvy, and it isn’t long before she starts to climb. When her coworkers unionize, they choose her as president, and from there, the sky is the limit. But just as the union gets underway, she meets a mysterious intellectual named Grant—who will either help her rise to the top, or drag her straight down to hell.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1951
21 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
James M. Cain
144 books879 followersJames Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892–October 27, 1977) was an American journalist and novelist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hard-boiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the "roman noir."
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.
After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.
He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.
Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.
His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.
He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).
He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.
He was born into an Irish Catholic family in Annapolis, Maryland, the son of a prominent educator and an opera singer. He inherited his love for music from his mother, but his high hopes of starting a career as a singer himself were thwarted when she told him that his voice was not good enough.
After graduating from Washington College where his father, James W. Cain served as president, in 1910, he began working as a journalist for The Baltimore Sun.
He was drafted into the United States Army and spent the final year of World War I in France writing for an Army magazine. On his return to the United States he continued working as a journalist, writing editorials for the New York World and articles for American Mercury. He also served briefly as the managing editor of The New Yorker, but later turned to screenplays and finally to fiction.
Although Cain spent many years in Hollywood working on screenplays, his name only appears on the credits of three films, Algiers, Stand Up and Fight, and Gypsy Wildcat.
His first novel (he had already published Our Government in 1930), The Postman Always Rings Twice was published in 1934. Two years later the serialized, in Liberty Magazine, Double Indemnity was published.
He made use of his love of music and of the opera in particular in at least three of his novels: Serenade (about an American opera singer who loses his voice and who, after spending part of his life south of the border, re-enters the States illegally with a Mexican prostitute in tow), Mildred Pierce (in which, as part of the subplot, the only daughter of a successful businesswoman trains as an opera singer) and Career in C Major (a short semi-comic novel about the unhappy husband of an aspiring opera singer who unexpectedly discovered that he has a better voice than she does).
He continued writing up to his death at the age of 85. His last three published works, The Baby in the Icebox (1981), Cloud Nine (1984) and The Enchanted Isle (1985) being published posthumously. However, the many novels he published from the late 1940s onward never quite rivaled his earlier successes.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 7, 2014
James M. Cain had a long and distinguished literary career (died 1977), but I never got around to reading anything but The Postman Always Rings Twice. In fact, I'm not sure I ever really read it, or just knew the title and saw a movie or something. I picked up The Root of His Evil out of curiosity and discovered once again that noir is nothing new.
Carrie Selden is known in the press as "The Modern Cinderella" because of her rise from rags to riches. Indeed, she's writing her story from the deck of a sloop anchored in the Caribbean. She wants, she says, to "correct false impressions."
What she's doing on that sloop and what those "false impressions" are consume the narrative. She's pretty and ambitious, looking for ways to rise from her waitress job in NYC to something better. Opportunities come in the form of a dynamic union organizer, who hankers for romance, and a rich guy who's the opposite of dynamic--all thumbs and elbows. Carrie doesn't know he's rich, but still sees possibilities.
No author has written a more reliable narrator, one who understands her own ruthlessness and makes no excuses. Carrie has a lust for money, which sees as a path to power and security. Furthermore, she hates being imprisoned in her class. Nothing wrong with any of that, except she never makes her quest romantic or noble. She's bare knuckles and cold-blooded. Occasionally she regrets the harm she brings to her victims, but not enough to sway her from her relentless quest for control.
At any rate, by the end, I still don't know what false impressions she was trying to correct. It seems to me she probably confirmed whatever negative public reputation she had before she started writing. There's a crucial scene at the end where the rich guy does something completely out of character and, to my mind, not justified by the writing. This may be a moment of unreliability for Carrie. Whatever the case, if you meet this particular Cinderella, I'd advise staying out of the way. She's as soon run you over in her coach as look at you.
Carrie Selden is known in the press as "The Modern Cinderella" because of her rise from rags to riches. Indeed, she's writing her story from the deck of a sloop anchored in the Caribbean. She wants, she says, to "correct false impressions."
What she's doing on that sloop and what those "false impressions" are consume the narrative. She's pretty and ambitious, looking for ways to rise from her waitress job in NYC to something better. Opportunities come in the form of a dynamic union organizer, who hankers for romance, and a rich guy who's the opposite of dynamic--all thumbs and elbows. Carrie doesn't know he's rich, but still sees possibilities.
No author has written a more reliable narrator, one who understands her own ruthlessness and makes no excuses. Carrie has a lust for money, which sees as a path to power and security. Furthermore, she hates being imprisoned in her class. Nothing wrong with any of that, except she never makes her quest romantic or noble. She's bare knuckles and cold-blooded. Occasionally she regrets the harm she brings to her victims, but not enough to sway her from her relentless quest for control.
At any rate, by the end, I still don't know what false impressions she was trying to correct. It seems to me she probably confirmed whatever negative public reputation she had before she started writing. There's a crucial scene at the end where the rich guy does something completely out of character and, to my mind, not justified by the writing. This may be a moment of unreliability for Carrie. Whatever the case, if you meet this particular Cinderella, I'd advise staying out of the way. She's as soon run you over in her coach as look at you.
September 29, 2015
The outline of the story: Meets Carrie Selden, a waitress who had her life turned up side down by marrying Grant Harris, a heir of a railroad billions fortune who also has a snobby family and a possessive, beautiful mother tagging along. Does it sound like a modern Cinderella story? Well, you will see.
The Root of His Evil is clearly not Mr. Cain at his best, but it still provides some good dramas and observation on human nature and society.
The story starts off as a 'modern Cinderella' drama: a waitress gets herself married to a heir of billion dollar fortune, but neither of them know each other's personality well so it isn't long before they have problems (plus tabloids, rumors, backstabbers and greed are also ruining things for them). I especially like the parts about the heroine trying to cope with the Society and the description of those high society people strongly remind me of stories written by Eileen Chang. Surprisingly Mr. Cain's observation on those snobby upper class people and their mentality/behaviors are so very similar to those from Ms. Chang's novels.
Like with other Cain's heroines, I can appreciate the heroine of this book for being a capable, strong willed survivor although to be honest, I don't think I understand the heroine's personality and I don't understand whether she identifies herself as a working class woman or not (and I don't really understand why she latter works for the worker union). She seems to dislike/wants to forget her humble origin but at the same time she demands her husband to stop denying her origin. That's confusing.
Plus I am really disappointed that in the end the heroine
Still, I think Mr. Cain had managed to create good dramas and revealed the sublet and upretty sides of human nature, and he didn't have to rely on murder to spice things up like The Snow White Murder Case by Kanae Minato has to.
The Root of His Evil is clearly not Mr. Cain at his best, but it still provides some good dramas and observation on human nature and society.
The story starts off as a 'modern Cinderella' drama: a waitress gets herself married to a heir of billion dollar fortune, but neither of them know each other's personality well so it isn't long before they have problems (plus tabloids, rumors, backstabbers and greed are also ruining things for them). I especially like the parts about the heroine trying to cope with the Society and the description of those high society people strongly remind me of stories written by Eileen Chang. Surprisingly Mr. Cain's observation on those snobby upper class people and their mentality/behaviors are so very similar to those from Ms. Chang's novels.
Like with other Cain's heroines, I can appreciate the heroine of this book for being a capable, strong willed survivor although to be honest, I don't think I understand the heroine's personality and I don't understand whether she identifies herself as a working class woman or not (and I don't really understand why she latter works for the worker union). She seems to dislike/wants to forget her humble origin but at the same time she demands her husband to stop denying her origin. That's confusing.
Plus I am really disappointed that in the end the heroine
Still, I think Mr. Cain had managed to create good dramas and revealed the sublet and upretty sides of human nature, and he didn't have to rely on murder to spice things up like The Snow White Murder Case by Kanae Minato has to.
November 14, 2009
I kept waiting for the excitement and it never came. Dude was scared of his mom and his ex-wife got back at her was the coolest part.
February 27, 2017
I wanted to read this one for a while, after reading his biography and hearing over and over about this "Modern Cinderella" story I was very disappointed. There are many of Cain's books one should read, this was not one of them. Characterization once again was strong, but the plot was weak and it never went anywhere for me.
October 22, 2015
I've tried reading this twice, and each time have gotten no farther than around 15%. Sounds impossible to say about a Cain book, but this is boring. Mind-numbingly boring.
January 8, 2025
Well-written novel about a waitress marrying into money and falling out of favour. I'd call it dark comedy rather than 'noir,' despite Cain's pedigree.
It hums along nicely.
It hums along nicely.
November 20, 2025
Not terrible but not very exciting, I was expecting some type of murder mystery but no dice.
November 22, 2025
Very ordinary. Nowhere near as good as Cain's earlier stuff. Seemed like it was written by someone else.
March 3, 2017
Loved it. The last sentence is golden.
February 2, 2010
Not classic Cain, but still pretty good.
July 20, 2023
Un romanzo che si legge tutto d'un fiato, divertente e ironico: la storia di una donna che si innamora dell'uomo giusto ma la madre di lui la scambia per un'arrampicatrice sociale
Want to read
February 17, 2019Synopsis: Carrie Selden takes her savings and moves to New York. Landing a job at a diner, she starts to rise but meets a mysterious man.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews