Mildred Pierce

Oh, my.  I haven't posted in awhile.  I've been lost in a whirlwind of re-reading some classic self-help tomes.  However, I did manage to squeeze in some Mildred Pierce.  What a fun little piece of work that was.  I so enjoy getting some inside scoop on the sexual politics of the early 20th century.  Man, it must've sucked to be a woman in those days, or any days prior to this one for that matter.  We've come a long way, baby.

I picked this book up because I saw they were making a mini-series of it on HBO, and I wanted to be prepared.  I'm so glad I did.  It's a gem.  It's all about a single mother trying to support her children in the midst of the great depression.  She's got a deadbeat ex and no marketable skills aside from her cooking.  Girlfriend opens a successful restaurant and manages to thrive in a desperate economy.

Unfortunately for Mildred, her ungrateful daughter rules the roost and is the epitome of the bad seed.  Thus, the two become quite a quarrelsome pair, and they get some serious domestic violence on.  Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her movie portrayal of Pierce, which seems entirely appropriate since she had no qualms about beating the hell out of her own children.

Such fun.  Such drama.  I need to rent the original before the HBO version airs.  Join me.  We'll dish.  Kate Winslet plays the new Mildred, by the way.  I lean more toward Joan, but we'll see how it goes.