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jcmochnick's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dee9401's review
2.0
I turned to Dashiell Hammet since he was one of the first authors to popularize the hardboiled genre. This style is one of my favorites, and I've read examples of it from American and Japanese authors. I really love Raymond Chandler, who is sometimes called Hammet's successor. On a meta-level, I was also excited that Hammet was born in my adopted state of Maryland (in St. Mary's County) and grew up in Philly (my hometown) and Baltimore (my new hometown and where I worked for many years). Alas, the stars didn't align to make this a great book for me.
The hardboiled style of fast-paced, staccato writing is absolutely there. Hammet has mastered the art of story telling and I wanted to finish the book almost from the very first page. However, unlike Chandler, there was no social context or message. I have called Chandler a hardboiled Steinbeck: dealing with social issues while still telling a great detective story. Hammet's characters are two-dimensional cut outs who lack any nuanced behaviors or redeeming factors. They have no backstory or clear motivation. There's no discussion of the overall social situation, how things got the way they were, why it should be fixed and how that might not work anyway.
In Red Harvest, one has a very utilitarian story of bad guys getting taken down by the scheming of an unnamed and shady detective. This feels ore like the script for a late 20th/early 21st century Hollywood film. Lots of "shoot 'em up", sexiness and drinking, rather than a well-honed novel from the early 20th. Alas, I probably won't read any more Hammet.
The hardboiled style of fast-paced, staccato writing is absolutely there. Hammet has mastered the art of story telling and I wanted to finish the book almost from the very first page. However, unlike Chandler, there was no social context or message. I have called Chandler a hardboiled Steinbeck: dealing with social issues while still telling a great detective story. Hammet's characters are two-dimensional cut outs who lack any nuanced behaviors or redeeming factors. They have no backstory or clear motivation. There's no discussion of the overall social situation, how things got the way they were, why it should be fixed and how that might not work anyway.
In Red Harvest, one has a very utilitarian story of bad guys getting taken down by the scheming of an unnamed and shady detective. This feels ore like the script for a late 20th/early 21st century Hollywood film. Lots of "shoot 'em up", sexiness and drinking, rather than a well-honed novel from the early 20th. Alas, I probably won't read any more Hammet.
bupdaddy's review
4.0
I can cheat fate right there with the best of them. F'rinstance, I didn't read the edition of Red Harvest I told goodreads I had. I read Red Harvest as part of Dashiell Hammett - Five Complete Novels - and nobody but you, me, and the Specter of Death is the Wiser - and ol' Spec's giving me a pass this time.
This is a dark, dark book.
This is a dark, dark book.
tittypete's review
3.0
Hammett has a style, for sure. And its a pleasurable, exciting one to read. But at the end of the day the story was super confusing and had zero reason to care about any of the characters. The plot seemed to be a guy show up in town set on solving crimes, everybody around him is murdered and this makes him exhausted. The end. So ... happy I read it but it I feel I'm going to forget it fairly soon.
bikes_books_yarn's review
4.0
I am really glad I was able to read a Dashiell Hammett novel and would really like to read some more at some point. They are classic and I feel like they are the embodiment of American Mystery writing. Hard boiled detectives. Raw. I can't think about this book without seeing black and white gritty film clips in my head.
kbogdano80's review
3.0
This was more of a gang shootout than a mystery. A detective is directed to clean up a crime-infested town. He does so by pitting the various gang members against each other and watching the results. Shooting and killing takes place. Then some more shooting. That's basically the plot but the book is worth it for Hammett's writing, which is tough, hard-boiled, fast-paced, and very accessible.
carlylottsofbookz's review
4.0
Best quote ever, "I've got a mean dispostion. Attempted assassinations make me mad."
There are a lot of great one-liners in here. And it's a fun read. (And what is fun is generally quick...) :)
A nap-taking, Scotch drinking, detective who doesn't sleep cleans up "Poisonville" aka, Personville.
There are a lot of great one-liners in here. And it's a fun read. (And what is fun is generally quick...) :)
A nap-taking, Scotch drinking, detective who doesn't sleep cleans up "Poisonville" aka, Personville.