- Mass Market Paperback
- Publisher: Perma (Jan 1 1961)
- Language: English
- ASIN: B002MAX1XO
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thin man, good book,
By E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Thin Man (Paperback)
The last of Dashiell Hammett's novels was "The Thin Man," and what a last novel it is. A hard-edged whodunnit, Hammett's writing had become very polished and his characters even more intricate by the time he wrote this, and while it's not the best he had written, it's a solid example of his work.Nick Charles was a rough'n'tough detective... until he married wealthy socialite Nora. Now he's retired early, drinks a lot, and has no apparent wish to come into contact with his messy past life. Enter Dorothy Wynant, daughter of weird (and possibly insane) inventor Clyde Wynant. As it happens, Wynant's secretary/mistress has just been murdered, and was found dying by his ex-wife Mimi. Nick keeps insisting that he doesn't want to detect, but somehow he gets sucked into it anyway when a gangster (ex-boyfriend of the murdered woman) invades his home and nearly kills him. Dorothy keeps popping up and pleading for help and protection; Charles' old flame Mimi is acting oddly; and her husband has some secrets of his own. Despite Nick's aversion to detective work, he and Nora set out to unravel the mystery surrounding the Thin Man. (Wynant, for your information) Hammett's cynical attitude was a huge part of his writing, but there's a new dimension to it in "Thin Man." Charles spends a lot of time trying to distance himself from his detective past, and in a way it feels like Hammett was distancing himself from his detective novels. Was Nick's dissatisfaction a sign of Hammett's? Quite possibly. But many of the things about "Thin Man" are vintage Hammett: lying waifs, men in disguise, lots of lying and booze. Almost everyone is sociopathic, and Nick and Nora aren't exactly what one would call "heroes." However, the dialogue is sharp and witty and the action is slickly exciting. Best of all, Hammett's writing had evolved a bit from his minimalist style; here he describes things like Mimi snarling in a bit more detail. Nick is the quintessential Hammett anti-hero (cynical, tough, and more than a little obnoxious), except here he's a bit weathered and tired out. Sam Spade and the Continental Op were on top of their games, but he's past his. Nora comes across as a little perkier but as tough in her own way. The crazy Wynant family, like manipulative mom Mimi and freaky son Gilbert, serves as a nice source of conflict. "The Thin Man" wasn't the best thing Hammett ever wrote, but it's still a solid mystery read. Pass the martinis.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A cynical martini w/a spash of bitters, garnished w/ murder,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Thin Man (Paperback)
For those of you who allow amature reviewers to guide your reading decisions, know this: Those reviews that talk about the book as being about a "destructive relationship" and the characters of Nick and Nora Charles as the user and the willing usee have made the mistake of not reading the actual text on the page, but instead have tried to apply some late-twentieth century literaty criticism, which they don't fully know how to apply, paired with the social-moral attitides toward blatant alcoholism and frivolity, to a book that is simply what it purports to be: a detective novel with imperfect characters and a perfectly logical final twist. If they find Nick Charles to be a violent womanizer, one can only imagine what they have made of Chandler's Marlowe . . . although I wouldn't be surprised to find similarly misinformed opinions of those books by the same reviewers if I could be bothered to look for them.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
And get me a drink while you're up, Dear....,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Thin Man (Paperback)
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.
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