The Thin Man: Difference between revisions
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==Alcoholism== |
==Alcoholism== |
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Contemporary readers are often struck by the main |
Contemporary readers are often struck by the main characters' obvious alcoholism, and by Hammett's attempts to portray them as urbane and debonair nonetheless. As [[August Kleinzahler]] notes, Hammett's successful writing career roughly coincides with [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]].<ref name="AK">{{cite web |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/06/CMGAB98G4F1.DTL |title=he Inebriate Life: Alcohol Didn't Slow Hammett's Profuse Prose. |author=August Kleinzahler |publisher=''The San Francisco Chronicle'' |date=[[February 6]] [[2005]]}}</ref> Although he lived many more years, this novel, which appeared in 1933, was his last. However, Kleinzahler ascribes the end of Hammett's career not to his alcoholism but to inherent limitations in the hardboiled detective genre, and to Hammett's inability to transcend this genre.<ref name="AK"/> |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Revision as of 01:22, 10 February 2008
The Thin Man (1934) is a hardboiled detective novel by Dashiell Hammett. Although he never wrote a sequel, the book became the basis for a successful film series which also began in 1934 with The Thin Man and starred William Powell and Myrna Loy. A Thin Man television series followed in the 1950s.
An early draft of the story, written several years before the published version, and now in print in several collections of Hammett's work, does not mention the main characters of the novel, Nick and Nora Charles, and breaks off after ten chapters. It is about a quarter of the length of the finished book.
The Thin Man is Hammett's last novel.
Plot summary
The story is set in Prohibition-era New York City. The main characters are a former private detective, Nick Charles, and his clever young wife, Nora. Nick, son of a Greek immigrant, has given up his career since marrying Nora, a wealthy socialite, and he now spends most of his time cheerfully getting drunk in hotel rooms and speakeasies. Nick and Nora have no children, but they do own a schnauzer named Asta, changed to a wire haired fox terrier for the movies.
The two decide to investigate a murder because Nora thinks it will be fun. The case brings them in contact with a rather grotesque family, the Wynants, and also with an assortment of policemen and lowlifers. As they attempt to solve the case, Nick and Nora share a great deal of banter and snappy dialogue, along with copious amounts of alcohol. The characters of Nick and Nora are often thought to reflect the personalities of Hammett and his long-time lover, Lillian Hellman.
Because the "Thin Man" title was used for the subsequent movies, there is a widespread misapprehension that the term refers to Nick Charles himself. One of the other characters in the novel is in fact the "thin man" to whom the title refers.
Alcoholism
Contemporary readers are often struck by the main characters' obvious alcoholism, and by Hammett's attempts to portray them as urbane and debonair nonetheless. As August Kleinzahler notes, Hammett's successful writing career roughly coincides with Prohibition.[1] Although he lived many more years, this novel, which appeared in 1933, was his last. However, Kleinzahler ascribes the end of Hammett's career not to his alcoholism but to inherent limitations in the hardboiled detective genre, and to Hammett's inability to transcend this genre.[1]
See also
Editions
- Holiday House, 2001 (reprint), ISBN 1-883402-70-0, Hardbound
- Vintage, 1989 (reprint), ISBN 0-679-72263-7, Paperback
- REB, Inc. (Renaissance Ebooks), 2006, ISBN not available, Audio Book
Footnotes
- ^ a b August Kleinzahler (February 6 2005). "he Inebriate Life: Alcohol Didn't Slow Hammett's Profuse Prose". The San Francisco Chronicle.
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