A seventeen-year-old book blog offering book reviews and news about authors, publishers, bookstores, and libraries.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Thin Man (1933)
Being almost completely unfamiliar with the old Nick and Nora Charles movies, I came to The Thin Man with no preconceived notions about its two main characters and how they might fit into the rest of Hammett’s body of work. At first, the book did not strike me as being particularly dark or hardboiled, two qualities I have come to expect from Hammett’s writing, but by the time I finished it I had changed my mind. As Hammett developed his storyline and fleshed out his characters it became apparent that the more sophisticated Nick and Nora were dealing with characters from the criminal underworld and the NYPD who would have fit comfortably into any Hammett novel.
Labels:
1930s,
American Noir,
Audio Books,
Reviews
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The same thing (alcoholism) jumped out at me in Travels With Charley. Same sort of behavior, not to mention that he stocked Rocinante's liquor cabinet very soon after he and his wife said goodbye in New York.
ReplyDeleteOh, I just saw you're currently reading that Nolan Porterfield book about Jimmie Rodgers. I'm so jealous! That's been on my wishlist for over a year now.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it jarring when the mores of the current day clash with the past? I find the sexism and racism of the 50's really off putting in some of books from that era.
ReplyDeleteThe attitude towards alcohol has really changed, even from the 70's. I really should pick up the Thin Man books though, I've only seen the movies.
I really try to keep "the times" in mind when I read a book, Bybee, but some things just become too distracting for me to keep them in context. This was one of those times.
ReplyDeleteHey, that Porterfield bio of Jimmie Rodgers is amazing...so much detail and day-to-day stuff in there that I am having to mark lots of pages so that I can refer back to them when I write my impressions of the book. Jimmie's story is a truly tragic one - but not quite the one that I expected. I'll save the details for my review...about 120 pages to go yet.
Carrie, despite the series of movies about Nick and Nora, this is the only "Thin Man" novel that Hammett actually wrote, I think. It was his last novel, in fact.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about things being more than a little to today's "ear"...this is a perfect example.