Waltz Into Darkness

Waltz into Darkness transports us to a time long ago, to the year 1880. Louis Durand is a wealthy but lonely New Orleans bachelor who, early in the narrative, marries a comely young woman named Julia Russell. But Louis and Julia are essentially strangers to each other. Their courtship, such as it was, has taken place entirely by mail. The first days of their marriage are quite blissful. But then author Cornell Woolrich masterfully introduces ever increasingly unsubtle hints that Julia is other than she presents herself to be. By the time Louis realizes he has made a terrible mistake in taking Julia as his wife, it's too late. In the blink of an eye, he is removed from, what is to him, paradise and thrust into a hellish nightmare. And that's just the beginning. There's much, much more. Waltz into Darkness is written as a third person narration. By using an arcane sounding, flowery prose and incorporating a number of melodramatic embellishments, Woolrich expertly recreates the kind of writing one would expect to find in a Victorian era romance novel. And his use of the element of suspense is no less than magnificent. Time and time again he brings the reader right up to the heart pounding brink only to then pull back so the suspense can build once more. This book is superbly crafted and shows what a virtuoso novelist Cornell Woolrich was. Highly recommended.

I've read a good deal of Woolrich over the years, especially many of his short stories. Waltz into Darkness is quintessential Woolrich. Woolrich's stories have been a staple for so many film noirs and this novel typifies one of the most familiar noir motifs - how a basically decent man can be destroyed because of his obsession for an amoral woman. Woolrich's personal life sorely lacked any romantic connection and this yearning for that physical and emotional connection is embodied in the character of Louis Durand. Nowhere is all of Woolrich's literature is the romance of loneliness, despair, and fatalism so richly explored than here.

Cornell Woolrich weaves a beautiful, terribly tragic tribute to the intricacies of human relationships and the depths that we are willing to sink to if we think worthy the person we make our descent with. This is, in essence, a romance novel under the guise of a noir crime tale. Louis Durand is a man not accustomed to the ways of love and finds himself overwhelmed by the extreme emotional states that accompany it. He could be argued as a weakling and a coward, but any true romantic (a category under which I myself likely would fall) will be moved by his unchanged, unshakeable devotion to the woman that he has his heart set on. He compromises his own morals and safety and way of life to win her over.The character of Julia Russell and her successor (that is the only way I can phrase it without revealing too much) is the true star of the novel. She is a woman hardened by the world that has turned its nose up at her and throughout the novel grows out of her cynical, loveless, deceitful shell and evolves into a woman that she before was so afraid to become.The novel is one of the definitive dark love stories of literary history, richly written by a brilliant author who clearly has personal stakes in the story. The novel will bear a much greater signifigance to those well versed in the ways of love and its darker faces. Detractors of love, cynics, and the naive in the world of relationships should steer clear, but for those who don't fit those descriptions and those who are looking for a tale of truly moving love and lack thereof, pick up this novel immediately.

Cornell Woolrich novels are perfect for those who want to discover the world of 'noir' crime novels of the mid-20th century. While most of these novels are long out-of-print, some of Woolrich's classics are still available. 'Waltz Into Darkness' is one of these classics.'Waltz Into Darkness' is the story of a middle-aged bachelor who marries someone who he knows only through love letters. He winds up getting more than he bargained for. His wife, clear to all except himself, is no angel. Due to her cold-heartness and his warm-heartedness, he decends down to her level. While one can think of this as being a trite story, one which has been filmed under different titles, the story worked for me as a pure character study rather than a crime novel (..yes, crimes are commited). The ending is most painfully moving. The psychological elements of 'Waltz Into Darkness' reminds me of the wonderful novels by Patricia ('Talented Mr. Ripley') Highsmith.My only complaint about this novel is Woolrich's tendency to concentrate on writing a great story and not "sweating the details" on descriptive details. This story is supposed to take place in New Orleans circa 1880. But Woolrich doesn't bother to make the reader feel he/she has been transported to such a time/place. Having recently read Kate Chopin's The Awakening, the setting being New Orleans circa 1900, I can plainly see how the superb 'Waltz Into Darkness' could have been better. Having said this, 'Waltz Into Darkness' has a richer literary feel than some of Woolrich's earlier works.Bottom Line: terrific psychological crime novel. A great book for Woolrich fans and neophytes alike.

"Waltz Into Darkness" is spellbinding. I was mesmerized from the first page. Woolrich creates tension that is taut, nearly unbearable. His writing is so vivid that it's like watching a movie on the big screen. Cornell Woolrich is unsurpassed as a weaver of psychological suspense.