Horace McCoy
Paperback | Pages: 122 pages Rating: 3.86 | 6594 Users | 615 Reviews
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| Original Title: | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? |
| ISBN: | 185242401X (ISBN13: 9781852424015) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Los Angeles, California(United States) |
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The marathon dance craze flourished during the 1930s, but the underside was a competition and violence unknown to most ballrooms—a dark side that Horace McCoy's classic American novel powerfully captures."Were it not in its physical details so carefully documented, it would be lurid beyond itself." —Nation
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| Title | : | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? |
| Author | : | Horace McCoy |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 122 pages |
| Published | : | September 15th 1995 by Serpent's Tail (first published 1935) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Mystery. Noir. Classics. Crime |
Rating Appertaining To Books They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Ratings: 3.86 From 6594 Users | 615 ReviewsCriticize Appertaining To Books They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
* Read from LOA's exquisite Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1930s & 40s edition*Horace McCoy's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is a bleak, tautly written existential noir text which wouldn't look out of place in Arthur Schopenhauer's personal library. I imagine the old fellow perusing it with a satisfied grin on his face. It's his philosophy's perfect expression in many ways. The novel takes place during the dance marathon craze of the 1930's. Impoverished, often mentally broken2 stars for the story, 5 stars for the last line of the book.Ok, what the... did I just read? In my opinion, this was one of the most bizarre, poorly-written, disconnected books I've read in a long time. A classic? Really? Am I missing something? I stuck it out, but with a sense of bewilderment lurking in the back of my mind the whole time. Waiting for the punch line, the point.When I discovered that the marathon "dance" wasn't really dancing at all, as long as you just kept moving, well, that's
They Shoot Horses, Dont They is a novel that speaks to our times: we are inundated with reality shows, where fame and fortune, tragedy and despair are brought to us on a whim and often in the public eye. The publics livelihoods and fates are broadcast for the world to see, and this sells. The basis for this story is concerning the promotion of a dance marathon during the Great Depression. The winner is promised cash and free food. And, unlike the many reality shows we see today, there is a
she died in agony, friendless, aloneThus the book beginsIts the 1930s right outside Hollywood in Santa Monica California and yet another version of the marathon dance craze is being enacted. Two Hollywood hopefuls, Gloria and Robert, happen upon one another and decide to team up, after all theres a $1,000 prize to the last couple standing. So begins this tortured story. Its one of struggle reflective of the depression. The couples are required to stay in motion with a ten minute rest break every
A one-day bleak read. Relentless and great.Noir's relationship with muckraking/social justice journalism is very much evident in this novel. The story's grim linear martch is fueled by the desperation of poverty.Not as brilliant, as noir goes, as The Postman Always Rings Twice...but it's so confidently written that its flaws become moving. It captures a moment and an age.
I came to this in a roundabout way, this story was in a book of crime novels of the 30s and 40s that I got from the library in order to read The Big Clock. I had just read a story by Jonathan Lethem about how virtual reality technology could be used for demeaning purposes in the future, such as having people perform in virtual reality suits and compete against each other for a prize. Lethem mentions 1930s dance contests in his preface to "How We Got In Town and Out Again".This story is so bleak
Great shot of pulp fiction. Short, sharp, and memorable.
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