August 2022 Recommended Reading and Viewing

[Coír Draoi Ceítien]

It's the last full month of summer, with just four months left to go in the year, which is both sad and relieving at the same time. For this month, I've picked a favorite of mine in both literature and film that I hope you'll find equally enjoyable. It's dark but not entirely hopeless.

Reading: The Night of the Hunter (1953) by David Grubb

Davis Grubb is an author who may be largely forgotten today, which is a shame, because his first novel is a classic story that's equal parts noir and coming-of-age, a sort of "Harper Lee meets Cormac McCarthy" mash-up. Set during the Depression, it follows two children whose father has entrusted them with $10,000 that he stole out of desperation before being sent to prison and hanged; unfortunately, his cellmate - a deranged serial murderer convinced he is a preacher of God - tries to insert himself into the children's lives by marrying their mother and winning the trust of the townsfolk, leading them the flee into the care of an older woman who looks after lost children and isn't so easily deceived. It's a testament both to the dehumanization of the Depression itself and the resilience of children to weather dark times.

Trade: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Hunter-Thriller-Vintage-Classic/dp/1101910054/
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Hunter-Vintage-Classics-Classic-ebook/dp/B00QP3RP0O/



Viewing: The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

While the book is an unfairly neglected classic itself, it's probably better known for the film adaptation made two years later under the direction of veteran actor Charles Laughton and starring Hollywood bad boy Robert Mitchum as the killer preacher, Shelley Winters as the children's tragic mother, and silent film legend Lillian Gish as the tough old caretaker whom the children come to. Initial response was negative (which led Laughton to abandon directing altogether), but posterity was much kinder, as it is now regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, influencing future generations of filmmakers with its expressionistic style reminiscent of the silent era; it has since been added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry in 1992.

DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Hunter-Criterion-Collection/dp/B003ZYU3U0/
Blu-Ray: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Hunter-Blu-ray-Robert-Mitchum/dp/B00HVOFPD0/
Amazon Video: https://www.amazon.com/Night-Hunter-Robert-Mitchum/dp/B01I0LLIRY/


So that's all for August. Stay safe out there!