Jack wrote: I think that "Red Harvest," except for the
opening, is pretty ugly stuff in both a plot and style. (OK
it was made from a bunch of novellas. Hammett should have
hooked them together better.)
The style is more Hemingway parody than good Hammett. It's
choppy and not conversational.
****** Hey! You can't say that in here! ;-)
I've only read it once, but I thought the character
development was marginal and the Con Op's incredible
toughness, which so many people love, lacks cred- ibility. I
thought Mario's comment about it was appropriate. It's an
experimental novel.
I'd like to comment on the Hemingway parody thing, but I
don't have a good timeline down yet. I know that Hemingway's
"Killers" came out in 1927, and I think RED HARVEST came out
in 1929, but when was RED HARVEST serialized in Black Mask?
My gut level feeling is that Hammett's hardboiled style
preceded Hemingway's.
miker
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