Review: Rain in the Doorway

Rain in the Doorway, written by Thorne Smith,First published 1933

This book is an astonishing piece of work, and I suspect gives a very clear idea of the ethos of the Roaring 20's, between the great wars and a few years into the great depression. The grand theme is the soul-crushingness of respectable corporate life and the gaity of irresponsible fun. A man with nothing to recommend his life is suddenly dragged through a door into a fantasy world of, well, fantasy...directorship of a massive department store, never-ending parties and loose women (who he mostly tries to run away from). Nothing goes very right, but nothing goes much worse than it would have in his old life either, which I think is the main point. I'm also a fan of the drawings which sprinkle the book -- most novels could get a boost from frequent illustrations. The book is very light-hearted and I think is summed up by a quote from Miss Honor "Satin" Knightly: "Why not salvage the gay things in life instead of casting about for gloom? There's plenty of that as it is."

I was surprised by several parts of the book, including the dedication which reads: "For Helen, Kathleen and Lillian, for whom Allah be praised". Another part that stood out was the inclusion of possibly the most annoying comment ever: "Another well meaning Kiarian had cornered the glowering major. "It isn't the heat," this man was saying, "it's the hu--"But the man never finished his sentence. The Major knocked him down with a single blow, wiped his hand with an expensive silk handkerchief delicately scented with eau de Cologne, and deliberately walked away.

There were also some political statements, and it surprises me more than it should when the trendy issues of today turn out to have been around for ages, such as:

"A person who votes one way, then goes home and acts another is not only a damn fool but also a damn fraud. Such people have no standing in this community."

"Now these furs all come from the best animals...all animals of the better class. I've often thought that if you could prevail upon elephants to grow hair everything would be much nicer. It fills me with regret to think that every piece of fur here displayed represents another step in the gradual extinction of animals whose only fault is that they have never learned how to shave."

While not an unmissable classic it's worth the read if you want to expand your literary horizons -- and happen to find it.

Posted by: James Quintana Pearce