Welcome to Litsy!

He killed her, but that‘s just the beginning. Robert and Gloria meet by chance and she convinces him to be her partner in a dance marathon. You get free food and a place to sleep as long as you last, plus a big payout if you win. In Great Depression-era America, that‘s a sweet deal. But Gloria wants a favor. This is bleak, American noir at its peak. 243/1,001 #1001Books

This was so good. Very noir, very bleak. I'd been aware of the title but had no idea what it was about. I then went down a 1930s depression-era dance marathon rabbit hole 🤯

Also read this today, an odd one

One of the best early crime novels I‘ve read. While the end is pretty much given away at the beginning, the way McCoy structures the story, mixing Robert‘s testimony seamlessly with how he got to that point, keeps the reader invested. The excerpts between chapters (almost like subtitles) of the judge‘s sentencing is a stroke of genius. And McCoy‘s precise and skillful writing is a cut above other hard boiled authors of the time.

Thank you @Daisey ! How sweet of you. And your timing is impeccable- it arrived on my birthday! 😊 I can‘t wait to read it!!

Novelette with the read time and grip of actual film noir--characters beyond moral resolution, yet this cannot be argued of the work itself. The dance marathon-as-human rat race metaphor works because McCoy's realism is quasi-lived. This was a really ugly historical phenomenon. And while racialized elements may shock non '30s buffs along with violence, this is one whose ultimate surprising depth lovers of literature will be able to appreciate.

#timbittunes

(Day 26 - #DanceMetotheEndofLove)

I think it‘s self-explanatory...

This little book from our #1001Discoveries group surprised me. It‘s not a happy story, but it‘s somehow very cheerful, even with the abrupt, unhappy ending you know is coming all along. Excellent writing about a 1930s dance marathon and the ‘kids‘ that are slogging through it. A short, fascinating read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#1001books

'Here they are again folks! These wonderful, wonderful kids! Still struggling! Still hoping! As the clock of fate ticks away, the dance of destiny continues! The marathon goes on, and on, and on! How long can they last!'

This great novel combines a dance marathon with existentialism.

#OneDance #HeatofJuly

A quick read and easy read, set during a Marathon Dance contest, filled with young people looking for the free food, the grand prize, and maybe being discovered by some Hollywood bigwig... and all of it saturated with that pervasive feeling of impending doom you get from other great short stories like The Lottery.

#Reading1001
#1001Discoveries

Not at all a cheery story, but I enjoyed this short novel. For once, the cover blurb might actually describe it best as “a lurid tale of dancing and desperation.” I stopped in the middle to look up factual information about dance marathons during the Depression which made the story hit even harder.

#Reading1001 Randomized List
#1001books #1001Discoveries

Who would have thought a dance marathon could be so violent and sexy? Completely unexpected at many points but a crisp read in the noir genre- with a stone cold hearted ending.

A quick read on a Sunday morning. A great read. Existentialism in the context of a dance marathon, who would have thought of that? So much is told in 120 pages, it leaves me sad, but also glad I discovered this one through the list. Don't let yourself be fooled by the title: it's not about horses!
#1001books

You guys might get sick of me by the end of the day. #booksintomovies are some of my favorite things to read since I'm also such a huge movie fan. This particular shelf on my goodreads has 90+ at the moment! These are my latest acquisitions from the used bookstore. #septphotochallenge #bookandmovienerd #bookintomovie 🤓