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Summary: The man would...
Review: roll over in his grave - forgive the cliche. To think that anyone would ever want to prissy up the crass, hard-boiled writings of Dashiell Hammett by combining them all into one, glossy, spit-polished volume.... If you want to read Hammett the way Hammett is meant to be read, go to a used book store. Find the most beat up, tired copies that you can, and, for effect, tear off the front covers and burn the page edges.But, regardless of your method, read Hammett, read everything by Hammett.
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Summary: Asta is a Schanuzer!
Review: The Thin Man was a popular series of films starring the unforgettable Myrna Loy and the talented William Powell. The films starred a wire fox terrier that played the couples' dog, Asta. I think it is important to note that in Hammett's novel, Asta is actually a schnauzer. Also, the Thin Man in the films refers to Powell's character, and in the book it refers to one of the other characters. In any case, Hammett's novels are as fresh and as entertaining today as any top-notch detective writer. I think Patricia Cornwell should read some Hammett and learn how to inject a little levity into Scarpetta. That is one uptight woman!
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Summary: Nice Hardback Anthology of Great Noir Fiction.
Review: This is a nice compact hardback edition of Dashiell Hammett's five novels, which he wrote between 1929 and 1934. A veteran of Pinkerton detective agency in several cities, Hammett turned his intimate familiarity with crooks, low-lives, and the seedier side of life into hard-boiled, hard-hitting detective stories. This was a time when urban corruption was the rule, and private detectives, journalists, and police officers shared information. Two of these novels, "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Glass Key" are American classics. Another, "The Thin Man", inspired one of Hollywood's best-loved movie franchises. Hammett's novels lift the veil of propriety from the subcultures in which they take place, laying bare violence, corruption, and pervasive cynicism. But they're not dreary. The sharp prose crackles, and the heroes stand apart from the corruption while swimming in it, steadfast in their own codes of conduct, their iconoclastic ideologies rooted securely in realism. These five novels all appeared as serials in magazines prior to being published as novels. "The Thin Man" appeared first in "Redbook", the others in "Black Mask".
"The Maltese Falcon" (1930) and "The Glass Key" (1931) are flawless. "The Maltese Falcon" features private detective Sam Spade, a irresistible femme fatale, and the ruthless pursuit of an ancient gold statuette. The last pages of the book are some of the most hard-hitting and cynical in all of noir fiction. And they're brilliant. "The Glass Key" explores political corruption that leads to personal tragedy in an unnamed American city. Oddly, the detective is the right-hand man of a crime boss. "Red Harvest" (1929) features the adventures of Hammett's most popular detective, the Continental Op, in a town called Personville, or Poisonville to those who know it better. The always unnamed detective for the Continental Detective Agency finds himself responsible for cleaning up a mining town that is ruled by violence and mob warfare. The novel's opening paragraph deserves to be read several times. "The Thin Man" (1934) is an attempt at humor among New York's blue-blooded, cold-blooded upper crust. Hard-boiled humor is interesting in concept. But I find the characters in this novel more pitiful than funny, and Hammett's style was in decline at this point. At least his characteristic cynicism wasn't. "The Dain Curse" (1929) is another Continental Op novel. This one is melodramatic, absurd, and not up to Hammett's usual standards. Hammett fans shouldn't miss it, but others may find it pointless. I described the novels in order of descending quality. "Complete Novels" organizes them chronologically.
Five novels is a lot to pack into one book. But "Complete Novels" doesn't resemble a door stop. It's a handy size actually. The print is not too small, but the pages are quite thin. Editor Stanley Marcus, a literary critic and frequent admirer of Hammett's work, has included a Chronology of Hammett's life and several pages of notes on the novels in the back of the book. The chronology is informative and provides all of the apparently significant events in Hammett's life. The notes are mostly definitions of colloquialisms used in the novels, which are useful. The notes also contain an introduction to "The Maltese Falcon", written by Hammett in 1934, in which he explains the origins of that novel's characters. It's quite interesting. For those who prefer to own these novels separately, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard hs published some handsome trade paperback editions. But if you want hardback and don't mind all five novels in one volume, this is quite a nice book.
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Summary: Best collection of Dashiell Hammett Detective Novels
Review: This is the best of the best when it comes to Dashiell Hammett. I am a long time fan and can say that Dashiell Hammett is coming into high fashion again. I read Hammett along with David Lehman's reissue of "The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection" and found the two books perfect companions for anyone who loves the classic WHODUNIT.
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Summary: "The stuff that dreams are made of"
Review: What a joy to have all the novels of this American author and freedom-fighter in one place. This guy wrote the real thing, with unmatched concision, and all the Ellroys in the world won't match him. I named my son after him.
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Summary: Brilliant writing, except for "The Thin Man"
Review: Wow. Finally the publishers are making what needs to be made more often. Hammett reinvents the hard-boiled and hard-boiled is forever changed. With his tight yet elegant prose that recalls Hemingway, Hammett leads us head-first through a maze of corruption and murder with genius that is only matched later by Raymond Chandler. Hammett never trusts the reader, much to the reader's delight: the endings are stunning yet not fantastic (as was Poirot). The only reason for which you shouldn't read this book would be to give other authors a fighting chance on your bookshelf...
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Summary: The Great Hammett
Review: Wow. Finally the publishers are making what needs to be made more often. Hammett reinvents the hard-boiled and hard-boiled is forever changed. With his tight yet elegant prose that recalls Hemingway, Hammett leads us head-first through a maze of corruption and murder with genius that is only matched later by Raymond Chandler. Hammett never trusts the reader, much to the reader's delight: the endings are stunning yet not fantastic (as was Poirot). The only reason for which you shouldn't read this book would be to give other authors a fighting chance on your bookshelf...
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