Martin Flavin (1) (1883–1967)

If Martin Flavin is remembered at all, it is for his rags-to-riches novel Journey in the Dark, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Critics regard his novels as flawed minor entertainments, though with some compelling elements. For example, he excelled at characterization and dialogue (he was, first and foremost, a playwright). Cameron Hill, his last novel, falls within this category. Cameron Bradley is born into affluence and comfort, but is unable to overcome his father's early death and a controlling mother (an emotional vampire who plays on her son's guilt at abandoning her and his lingering sense of family duty). In his early 20s, just before entering medical school, he marries impulsively, in haughty defiance of his mother's expectations, but then allows a childish craving for his mother's approval to sabotage the marriage. This is typical of his behaviour throughout the novel, which is told mostly in flashback years after he has flunked out of school and in the immediate aftermath of a senseless murder he has committed. Cameron marries a second time, into a wealthy family, but this relationship fizzles as well for much the same reason. The novel begins with a police detective investigating the murder, and we fully expect this element to be resolved at the end. When it isn't, we're left wondering if the author lost interest in his story. This is unfortunate because much of the narrative describing the dissolution of Cameron's first marriage is compelling. If nothing else, Cameron Hill provides an engrossing critique of the soul destroying blandness of suburban America and the pursuit of wealth. John Cheever did it better, though, with more subtlety and humour.… (más)

Journey in the Dark chronicles the life of Sam Braden from his humble origins in Wyattville, Iowa to life as a successful businessman in 1920s and 1930s Chicago. In some ways a typical rags to riches story, Journey in the Dark almost transcends the formula of its structure with its superb evocation of early 20th-Century America and Flavin's fluid and richly detailed prose. The story is also driven by a strong sense of morality. While still a young boy, Sam Braden yearns for riches from the moment he understands that the poverty of his upbringing imposes limits on what he can do and what he can have. But the path to financial success is neither smooth nor straightforward, and he is constantly aware that the acquisition of wealth means taking advantage of the misfortune of others. Braden's is a life of triumph and tragedy that comes full circle when he retires to Wyattville to live with his spinster sister. Flavin's novel may not tell us anything we did not already know, but it was good enough to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1944.… (más)