Rating: 
Summary: And get me a drink while you're up, Dear....
Review: This may be a "detective novel," but that's the least of it. The Thin Man is a statement of the good life, and included are plenty of style and sexiness. Nick and Nora Charles are the greatest, most reasonably decadent couple and the final, best commentary on the American high life that was thrown into such relief by the foil of Prohibition. Sure, there's a murder mystery, but there's also raw roast beef and onions, plenty of onions, from an all-night deli, washed down with perpetual scotch and soda. ... Dashiell Hammett wrote Nick Charles in order to be Dashiell Hammett: drunk, yes, but so what? Once great, always great, as long as you leave a legacy that people admire.
Rating: 
Summary: The Dark Underbelly of Depression-Era New York
Review: Unlike the famous film version starring William Powell and Myrna Loy, the characters of Dashiell Hammett's THE THIN MAN range in tone from vapid to vicious, with only Nick and Nora Charles emerging as somewhat similar to their cinematic counterparts. The plot is also considerably less lean, and Hammett packs it with a number of unnecessary excursions that tend to sidetrack the flow of action. The result is less of an action-packed detective story than it is a portrait of New York in the early 1930s, where cops are brutal and stupid, society rubs shoulders with criminals in lowlife speakeasies, and every one is out for what they can get.And what they want are sex and money and more sex, preferrably laced with bootleg liquior. Fans of the film will easily recognize the basic plot: retired detective Nick Charles is unwilling dragged into the search for a former client, inventor Clyde Wynant, who is wanted for questioning in connection with the brutal murder of his secretary-mistress. But not only the police want him: ex-wife Mimi is low on funds and would like to lay hands on his dough, his estranged children Dorothy and Gilbert have vested interests of their own, and Mimi's current husband is playing his own hand as well. The characters are considerably darker here, particularly in reference to Dorothy and Gilbert, with Dorothy a manipulative and hard-drinking little tramp and Gilbert an ineffectual weakling; mother Mimi is viciously neurotic and abusive; and the missing Clyde Wynant is so eccentric that whether or not he had a hand in the murder he clearly needs to be locked up. To further complicate matters, both Dorothy and Mimi are on the make for Nick Charles. As for Nick and wife Nora, they possess considerable sparkle--but they too are of this world, Nick clearly en route to an alcoholic hell and pulling Nora along with him. Hammett writes with his usual strength, but as a novel THE THIN MAN lacks the focus of his more famous THE MALTESE FALCON, and his digressions and excursions hinder the book as a whole. Even so, his dark and frequently witty look at the underbelly of depression-era New York packs enough punch to bring it in at a solid four stars. Recommended for fans of the classic "hard boiled" style, but probably of more interest to hard-core completists than casual readers.
Rating:
Summary: "This excitement has put us behind in our drinking."
Review: What a difference three years can make. Between 1930 (when Hammett finished "The Glass Key," perhaps his bleakest work) and 1933 (when he published "The Thin Man," his last novel), Hammett had discovered two things that transformed his outlook on life: a steady income from book sales and from Hollywood filmwriting and, perhaps more important, Lillian Hellman.
There's surely nothing like being unexpectedly wealthy and suddenly in love: Hammett's changed outlook on life is even more apparent when one compares the 65-page outline of "The Thin Man" he set aside in 1931 with the final version of his book, which seems to be more of a light-hearted and satirical tribute to the traditional whodunit than a continuation of the gloomy noir of his earlier novels.
While his first four novels, as well as the early draft, featured an anti-Establishment loner (the Continental Op, Sam Spade, Ned Beaumont), "The Thin Man" introduces Nick and Nora Charles as a pair of unlikely crime-busters breaking off their vacation in New York (which consists mostly of drinking at any available venue) to solve a murder. Readers with only a passing knowledge of Hammett's biography will recognize both Hammett and Hellman as the inspirations for the alcoholic ex-sleuth and his socially savvy wife.
What also separates "The Thin Man" from Hammett's other full-length works is its giddy humor, which revolves around seedy nightlife, early-morning alcohol consumption, and Nick and Nora's freethinking rapport, while the dialogue pokes fun at the tough-guy image and the mystery form itself. The morning after being grazed by a bullet, Nora asks Nick: "How do you feel?" "Terrible, I must've gone to bed sober." This playful banter takes up much of the book and supplies one of its greatest pleasures.
Many Hammett fans have long regarded "The Thin Man" as his weakest novel, and I tend to agree--up to a point. This book lacks the quality for which the others are famous: uniqueness (for lack of a better word). Although it's a sophisticated Manhattan comedy, Hammett's last detective novel is a lot like many other whodunits, and his unexpectedly relaxed and newly satisfied voice often doesn't ring true. Even so, it's a shining example of the traditional mystery and a lot of fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: Dorothy is a sleaze in the book
Review: When I see a film based on a novel, I like to read the novel to compare plots and execution. Most of the time the novel or story is fuller than the movie due to the short media time and the target audience. In this case the novel does have a better-developed plot and is more cohesive. The characters are more true to form and there is a real Rosewood/Rosebrien. However the book characters are more sinister and Dorothy is sleazy. I planed to make this the last story I would read by Dashiel Hammett. However others tell me I just picked the wrong one to start with.
The film on the other hand, was modified to give a lighter approach. It is the film that I will think of as the real "Thin Man" and Maureen O'Sullivan as the real Dorothy that was concerned about her father. Speaking about that, what is the Sullivan act?
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