>The Dain Curse struck me as the most Chandler-esque
of Hammett's novels,
>meaning of course that Chandler is Dain Curse-esque,
though obviously
>taking
>it to another level. What prompts to say that (from
somewhat distant
>memory)
>is not only the episodic nature, but also the
interaction with the wealthy,
>eccentric family with compelling, messed-up
daughters. . . . .and now all
>of
>a sudden i'm starting to think of Ross Macdonald . .
. . .
it does, of course, have the op shuffled here and there a la
marlowe, though the events he's investigating are connected
from the start, whereas marlowe's investigations usually
involve two (or more) seemingly unrelated cases coming
together at the end. it doesn't exactly have chandler's
endearing california beach-house, but it does have a gothic
sort-of mansion on a cliff overlooking the ocean. close
enough, or is it?
what i found strange about it is how much of it takes place
outside of the city, in a small california coastal town
"Quesada", and, above-all, that crazy sacrificial cult. not
your usual, gritty, street-fighting, blackjacking
material.
i used "pulpy" as a quote from someone to whom i talked about
the novel before i read it (which was last night for the
first time). his explanation: it has some sort of exciting
revelation or event every few pages or so, whether you need
one or not. i guess that's the case, though it seems like it
was a couple of medium-length short stories and one long
novella strung together. i read somewhere that it was
actually some various stories strung together. has anyone
read those? know of them? are they available? if so, what
kind of changes did Hammett make to them?
brooks.
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