James M. Cain's novel, Mildred Pierce, wantonly squanders what could have been a very good and representative American story; it could even have been a great one. (p. 79)

One of the striking and promising features in the early portions of this novel is that the two main characters are presented with reference to objects and to conventional conceptions. They possess little of the individuality of many merely literary characters. The style of the book is objective, even a little flat in places; it records movements, performances, the handling of things, such as Bert bracing the trees, Mildred cooking, and the ingredients which go into the making of something she will sell. Thus there is presented a life in which things, commodities, have almost become the protagonists. (pp. 80-1)

[Mildred Pierce] has been developed in terms of Hollywood simplicities but does not indicate the character of the opportunity Cain...