Monday, June 22, 2015

#53 Tell Me What To Do- Joe Frank


#53 Tell Me What To Do- Joe Frank

Joe Frank has been called the “apostle of radio noir.”  At least that’s according to the dust jacket for his short story collection, The Queen of Puerto Rico. The first tale, Tell Me What To Do, is a dark sad world filled with booze and infidelity. Nobody is happy with what they have or who they’re with and everyone is looking for an escape. I guess it’s in a noir-light style. 

The plot is not really important and the characters are relatively cookie-cutter.  These are some of the themes:

Insecurity:
“He had the feeling if he didn’t stay with her, he’d never see her again.”

Misery:
“She had gotten everything she wanted, and she was miserable.”

Submission:
“Tell me what to do.”

And like every noir tale:
“They drank, they fought, and they fucked.”

That about sums it up!




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