The Blonde on the Street Corner

David Goodis was one of the major writers of crime noir in the 1940s and '50s. Many of his best works were filmed to good effect, including DARK PASSAGE, with Bogart playing the lead, Tourneur's NIGHTFALL, Truffaut's SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER, Sam Fuller's STREET OF NO RETURN, and THE BURGLAR. Goodis's novels painted bleak, black views of the inner-city life he himself lived, populated by losers and drunks. As Ed Gorman once said, Goodis didn't write novels, he wrote suicide notes. But his power lay in his ability to get down on paper the stark reality of the low-life he witnessed around him, before he too fell victim to the type of decline experienced by the characters he wrote about. It's a tragedy that, apart from this reissue, few of the eighteen novels Goodis wrote are currently in print. This is the first publication of THE BLONDE ON THE STREET CORNER since it originally appeared in a paperback edition in 1954. The story is set during the depression years of the 1930s, in Goodis's own home town of Philadelphia, and seems to be at least partly autobiographical. Ralph and his buddies are out of work, and jobs are not easy to find. He'd like to be a song-writer, but there's little hope of getting that kind of break. Christmas is coming and he needs some money, and the only other options involve crime and sex. With his usual talent for brilliant prose description and language, Goodis takes you effortlessly into the murky realms of depression America to meet the deadbeat characters who populate the streets and bars. Serpent's Tail Press are to be congratulated for reissuing this long-lost classic by one of the legendary writers of the hardboiled. It's to be hoped that more by Goodis follows from them soon.

Goodis supposedly sold a million copies of this pulp fiction drugstore paperback in the early fifties. Those were the "good old days" when American postwar anti-heros gave meaning to proletatian fiction in a very real way. And the working class actually read books. How so? Working class readers could identify with this kind of literature as a form of entertainment with at least one blow by blow knock-em out fight scene and penultimate gritty sex scene to match the come-on cover. It talked about their condition, hopes and despairs in an unglamorous way, spoke their diction, and didn't pull any phoney punches. We need real literature again on the mass market paperback racks besides the usual thrillers and fem-novels instead of relying on trade paperbacks for the elite.

This novel is Goodis's classic tale of urban desolation. Like a bleak, sparse George Bellows painting, Goodis' world is master strokes of grim description from torn overcoats to bloodied maws to swearing Santas. At the center is Ralph Creel, a lazy bum torn between his romantic soul and his animalistic instincts. Ralph Creel is a fighter, a survivor, a supremely Goodis creation who like us all, eventually gives in to life, to the Fat Blonde on the Street Corner, but not before he allows the reader to witness some moments of Grace./

Forget the title--this book is not about sex. At least, not very much (only a brief reference or two). What it's about is what it's like to live as a young poor person in Philadelphia. The book was written in the 1950's, it's written about the 1930's, but as a former resident of Philadelphia, I can attest to the fact that it is as accurate a depiction of today's world as any other decade. The novel is a small gem that captures the essence of being unemployed and poor in the big city, but without being depressing or moralistic in any way. Doesn't sound like much of a recipe for success, but Goodis is a master at bringing a mood to life. He accomplishes with understatement what most novelists never achieve: genuine, believable characters in real settings. This book has not, to my knowledge, been made into a film as his other works have, which is probably due to the unusual plot structure (basically, not much excitement goes on in the book), but the trueness of his vision soars beyond any limitations. I lived in similar circumstances to the characters in the book, and was astonished at the accuracy that Goodis gives to real life. It's amazing. Worth a read, even if you are only marginally interested. It's a brief page turner that leaves you longing for more, just as the characters in the book feel. This book is a revelation.