Tick Tock

This book was written in 1946, and for some reason has received renewed attention. It is a short dark novel. Fearing was a poet for several years, but wrote pulp fiction, worked as a journalist and in public relations for money. He was also a serious alcoholic. As his alcoholism progressed he couldn’t hold on to money or his writing.  When this book was made into a film he earned quite a bit of money, but lost it all quickly. I haven’t seen the movie, but the introduction suggests that the protagonist of the book, George Stroud, gets cleaned up for the movie.

George Stroud, is a drinker, a womanizer, and he’s held a series of jobs prior to his work as an editor of a crime magazine: Crimeways.  He’s cynical and sleazy.

George hooks up with Pauline Delos, a woman who parties with the owner of the media company he works for, Earl Janoth. Her character could come straight out of a 1930’s noir film, she’s tall blonde and icy. He and Pauline spend several days together, he buys an unusual and damaged painting; they go upstate for the weekend. When they return, she doesn’t invite him up to her apartment. He leaves her at the door of her building.  As he gets to his car he sees Earl Janoth arrive.  Janoth sees him, however, he doesn’t recognize who he is. George, however, recognizes Janoth.

Janoth and Pauline argue, and Pauline is found dead in her apartment the next day. The police know nothing of her dalliance with George, but Janoth knows there was another man. Janoth turns to Steve Hagen, his confidant and clean-up man. Hagen decides that the unidentified man must be found before the police find him, he chooses the editor of Crimeways to find him. Thus begins George’s bizarre manhunt of himself. The tension builds and the circles keep tightening until it looks like George will be discovered.  And then the book ends in an abrupt all caps finish.

Seven characters narrate the book, although George is the primary narrator throughout the story.  This had an auditory effect on me, I really felt like I could hear the different voices tell the story.  The fact that the story takes place in a megacorporation run by elite rich men makes it feel a little more contemporary than it might otherwise. George refers to it as the big clock, hands moving slowly and relentlessly, uncaring to all around it.  The book made me think of Lang’s Metropolis, or Orwell, there’s something dystopian and mechanical about the whole thing.

Given all that, I found the book interesting even though the end was clunky and disappointing.