Black Wings Has My Angel is one of the sweetest pieces of noir fiction that I've ever read. I had never heard of this book or Eliott Chaze, its author, until I saw it mentioned on a blog. Sadly I didn't bookmark that post so I can't give it a shout-out.
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Otto Penzier is famous for saying that noir fiction is about losers and Pretty much everyone in a noir story (or film) is driven by greed, lust, jealousy or alienation, a path that inevitably sucks them into a downward spiral from which they cannot escape. The author of The Steampunk Opera blog has narrowed his focus on noir to one specific element: True noir it is argued is a tale of a corrupt character, the sexual stimuli that activates them and the fall that awaits them. If you like those two descriptions — and I do — then Black Wings Has My Angel is a perfect example of noir. 65+ years hasn't watered down its impact one bit.
Before I get into my review, take a look at the original Gold Medal cover. There is absolutely nothing in the book that resembles that scene. I think it interesting that it has the effect of making the female protagonist, Virginia, the dominate one. Probably, though, it was just to titillate. When it was reissued as One For the Money, the cover does show something from the book.
The story is told in first person by Tim Sunblade (an alias, we learn his real name later). This voice is particularly effective with noir stories as you're inside the head of the protagonist. Jim Thompson is my go-to author for this, looking at events through the eyes of sociopaths.
Tim is just off 16 weeks as a roughneck on an oil rig. With his payout, he has gone to a hotel to get clean and unwind. While musing in his first hot water bath in four months, we find out that he has been to college, having had to work his way through Washington and Lee University. This isn't a situation where you'd expect to find a college man, especially a graduate from a prestigious university like this one. Getting clean was a lead-up to getting dirty and a slimy bellhop soon delivers a hooker named Virginia to his room. Virginia isn't the sort of woman you expect to find turning $10 tricks in a shabby hotel in Krotz Springs. Louisiana.
One night turns into three days and when Tim leaves, she goes with him, unconcerned about driving off to parts unknown with a man she barely knows. What she doesn't know right away is that Tim has a plan to score big and his plans don't include a woman. He figures he'll ditch her in a gas station somewhere on the road. Things don't work out as planned and Virginia proves smarter, more resourceful, and more in tune with Tim's way of thinking than he expected. She's just as greedy for wealth and just as amoral, if not more so. .
Tim got his foolproof plan from a fellow inmate while in prison. Tim was successful in escaping, his friend Jeepie died on the wall. The plan calls for two people to carry off the heist and unexpectedly Virginia will fit in nicely. Especially since he is an expert driver a skill that convinces Tim she will make a good partner.
About half the book is the lead-up to the job and the other half is the actual job and the aftermath. There is a marked shift in tone between the two halves. In the first, Tim and Virginia are upbeat as they establish themselves as a newly married couple (a littler humor here) and plan the job. In the second half, with their goal realized, they begin to fall apart.
Of course there are ancillary characters but the focus is entirely on Tim and Virginia. They are perfect noir protagonists and we know their relationship is not going to end happily.
In addition to being a college man, a roughneck, and an escaped convict, Tim is also a WWII veteran of the Pacific campaign. He still has shrapnel in his head. Does this contribute to his seemingly casual attitude toward death? The plan calls for someone to die and Tim accepts that as a necessity, nothing more. In fact, for the most part, Tim is casual in his narration and accepting of his fate.
Tim and Virginia have a love hate relationship. Literally. They can go from physical violence to passionate sex and they seem to both love and hate each other equally.
While Tim isn't being lead into doing something against his will, Virginia is still a femme fatale. We find out that she also has a shady past and is on the run. She'll go to prison if she is found. With the possibility of regaining the wealth she was once used to, she is a willing participant in Tim's plan. But as the time get closer to the heist, Tim admits to himself that he would abandon the job if it were not for Virginia. He fears he would appear weak in her eyes. So the crime is carried off and their doom is inevitable.
The second half is a downward spiral from initial elation to fatalistic acceptance. Tim is haunted by what he did and Virginia becomes increasingly obsessed by death. Neither knows what do do with their new wealth and this pushes them toward the edge. They head to New Orleans and fall in with some dissolute rich kids and spend money recklessly on things neither really want: I can buy it so I will, seems to be their philosophy. The New Orleans scenes are very, very good and show our protagonists coming apart which is all the more sad as Tim makes a last effort to regain some sanity.
As I said at the top, this is now one of my top noir novels. The way Chaze structures the rise and fall of the progagonists and gets inside their heads, and the dialogue gives it a literary quality while preserving a gritty story about two losers. If you enjoy noir fiction, this book is a must-read.
Other than the brief mention that called Black Wings Has My Angel the perfect crime story, I have avoided reading other reviews before writing my own. I knew I would chose what to focus on from what other reviewers focused on. But now I want to know what others thought of this book so I will do a review of reviews later.
Keywords: crime fiction, noir fiction, heists
This sounds like a very effective setup for a noir story, Mack. I like the premise, and it sounds as though the pace is solid, too. Glad you enjoyed it.
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