Monday, March 28, 2011

Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest



This will be brief, because I can convey the feel of this tense, dark, gritty novel in very few words:

Smoke. Gin. Bullets. More gin. Bogart, not literally, but you won't be able to not see the nameless narrator as Humphrey. And this quote:

"I haven't laughed so hard over anything since the hogs ate my kid brother."

If you think we live in a jaded, brutal age, try this Depression era novel. If you think we live in a violent age, try this novel. If you think we live in an overly drugged age, read this novel.

In short, read this novel. I look forward to the other four (including, most notably, the Maltese Falcon) in this volume.

No comments:

Post a Comment