Out In The Noir Night- Dashiell Hammett’s The Thin Man

Books In Brief

The Thin Man, Dashiell Hammett, 1934

Dashiell Hammett is perhaps better known for creating the classic modern prototypical detective, one Sam Spade the detective-hero (or anti-hero, if you prefer) of the literary noir The Maltese Falcon. With The Thin Man he took a different tack in providing a model detective- the urbane Nick Charles, his side-kick society wife Nora and their ever present faithful dog companion, Asta. The story line here centers on a missing eccentric inventor/businessman who it is suspected has been a victim of foul play. Enter Nick, Nora and Asta at the request of his wondering society family (wondering, that is, about the fate of the dough necessary to keep them in their luxuries) and after a series of misadventures and false leads Nick grabs the villain. That is what old Nick has in common with the illustrious Mr. Spade-the dogged (no pun, intended) and tenacious search for the truth and the killer, come what may. If you like your detectives with a light touch this is for you. If you like your detective novels to be minor works of literary art this is also for you. Hammett (along with Raymond Chandler) practically reinvented the previously rather shabby art of the early detective story into literature. Kudos.