IT AIN'T HAY

    I was looking for something about the drug culture after World War II -- maybe a trashy version of The Subterraneans -- and It Ain’t Hay didn’t fill the bill. The book does assert a connection between marijuana and crime, however, which makes it of some historical interest. David Dodge (1910-1974) was a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction. He wrote three earlier and lighter novels featuring the protagonist of It Ain’t Hay, after the publication of which he moved his stories overseas. His most famous book is To Catch a Thief (1952).

    It Ain’t Hay by David Dodge. Simon and Schuster (1946), 218 pp.
    San Francisco tax accountant James Whitney experiences two unusual events on the same day. Barney Steele, a distinguished-looking man with calloused hands, comes to the office to ask about reporting only the part of his income that comes from legal activities. Whitney is suspicious and quickly ends the conversation. At a bar that evening, while having a drink with his gorgeous wife, he joins a fight against a belligerent “owl-eyed” man. The police arrive to explain that marijuana (“hay”) was responsible not only for the man’s behavior but for a crime wave sweeping the city. Could Steele, who behaves like a thug on his next visit to Whitney, be connected to the illegal drug?
    The book, which is dedicated to California’s narcotics enforcement agents, just barely survives its exaggerated portrayal of marijuana’s evil effects. The author makes some outrageous claims here, which probably seemed just as silly in 1946 and they do now. In addition, readers may have trouble accepting the whole idea of a tough-guy tax accountant. Once it gets into the fight against drug traffickers, the story moves along pretty well. Even so, Dodge puts in too many digressive characters, both low-lifes and crime-fighters, and adds puzzling references to previous novels in the series. All in all, this is a book that only drug warriors will love.

Comments

[Brian Ritt]

Thanks for the review. I've often wondered about this book because of the classic cover. But because of Dodge's background and the book's year of publication, I assumed that the passages relating to marijuana were written from the fanciful "reefer madness" point of view. Your review seems to confirm this. I do own a copy of Dodge's "Bullets For the Bridegroom", which I haven't read yet, but am looking forward to reading because of it's lighthearted tone. Hell, a reader can't wallow in gloom and existential angst ALL the time.
B.Ritt

[Don Napoli]

As you can tell, I wasn't impressed with this book. I hope Bullets for the Bridegroom works out better.