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Apr. 4th, 2016 07:53 pmI've been meaning to read Vera Caspary's 1940s crime novel Laura for years, as well as watch the noir movie that was based on it. Recently I have done both!
As in most noir, the murder in Laura is basically just the event that blows the lid off a roiling class-, gender-, and sexuality-based interpersonal mess. Laura is a successful advertising executive, in the 1940s (which, probably not coincidentally, was also the author's job). She's independent and intelligent and everybody who knows her thinks she is just the classiest lady they ever met -- including her charming Southern gentleman of a fiancee, who resents her tremendously for the fact that he's living off her money; her extremely queer-coded Famous Writer bff, who resents her tremendously for breaking up their long-term friendship in order to marry a loser like her fiancee; and the police officer investigating Laura, who after a long convalescence in hospital has just discovered Books and and Learning and is super excited to discover the existence of Nice Girls Who Read, Even If They Are Tragically Dead Before You Actually Meet Them.
Because, alas, Laura is tragically dead! Murdered! In her fancy apartment! The book is an epistolary narrative which is told by, sequentially, 1.) Waldo Lydecker, the queer-coded bff, who writes with great pretension about how he is obsessed with her; 2.) Mark McPherson, the police officer, who writes a matter-of-fact police report about how he is rapidly becoming obsessed with her; ( everything here gets spoilery and goes under a cut, but does not reveal the murderer! )
( And then everything here gets spoilery AND reveals the murderer! )
As in most noir, the murder in Laura is basically just the event that blows the lid off a roiling class-, gender-, and sexuality-based interpersonal mess. Laura is a successful advertising executive, in the 1940s (which, probably not coincidentally, was also the author's job). She's independent and intelligent and everybody who knows her thinks she is just the classiest lady they ever met -- including her charming Southern gentleman of a fiancee, who resents her tremendously for the fact that he's living off her money; her extremely queer-coded Famous Writer bff, who resents her tremendously for breaking up their long-term friendship in order to marry a loser like her fiancee; and the police officer investigating Laura, who after a long convalescence in hospital has just discovered Books and and Learning and is super excited to discover the existence of Nice Girls Who Read, Even If They Are Tragically Dead Before You Actually Meet Them.
Because, alas, Laura is tragically dead! Murdered! In her fancy apartment! The book is an epistolary narrative which is told by, sequentially, 1.) Waldo Lydecker, the queer-coded bff, who writes with great pretension about how he is obsessed with her; 2.) Mark McPherson, the police officer, who writes a matter-of-fact police report about how he is rapidly becoming obsessed with her; ( everything here gets spoilery and goes under a cut, but does not reveal the murderer! )
( And then everything here gets spoilery AND reveals the murderer! )
