Dashiell Hammett
Finished reading 5 februa 2004
Dash Hammett is now, officially, one of my favourite authors. I'll probably read every thing he's ever done. I had previously enjoyed immensely The Glass Key and The Maltese Falcon, and now that I've enjoyed The Thin Man so much, there's no denying Dash is one of the good ones.
The Thin Man is a great story. The main character, Nick Charles, is a retired detective in New York for Christmas and New Year's for a vacation with his wife. When he was a detective and lived in New York, many years ago, one of his cases entangled him with an eccentric inventor (the Thin Man) and his family. When the inventor's personal assistant is killed, however, while Nick and his wife are in New York, every one wants Nick on the case. Every one save Nick. All Nick wants is to enjoy his vacation and to get as drunk as possible, but people keep dragging him into the case, whether he likes it or not.
Okay, so this is a mystery novel. But Hammett mystery novels are different from others. When you read an Agatha Christie novel or some thing, the whole thing is a game: you're trying to figure out who the murderer is before the book reveals it. If you manage to do that, you've 'won'. Otherwise, the book was won. This is one of the problems with the entire genre, I think, but that's a matter for some where else. The thing with Dash Hammett mysteries, and this is especially true for The Thin Man, is that you, the reader, are so interested in the actual story and the characters, that you don't even try to guess the answer. You just sit back and enjoy the ride. There's no game, it's just a great story.
What can I say? This book is amazing. I wish I'd written it.
Rating: 4/5