Yep. I love the writing, love the Continental Op characterization, love the way Hammett spins these different murder mysteries around the blowing up "Poisonville", love other things about it that are spoilers, but I think it's near perfect. I love The Maltese Falcon, The Dain Curse, Glass Key and The Thin Man also, as well as a long list of other hardboiled + noir fiction, including Solomon's Vineyard, Double Indemnity, Derek Raymond's factory series, Name of the Game is Death, The Axe, many Jim Thompson books, as well as Willeford, but for me Red Harvest is my favorite, at least so far.
--Dave
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, sonny <sforstater@...> wrote:
>
> wow. by 'favorite crime novel' i take it you mean you prefer it not only to 'falcon' but to all chandler, cain and all other mysteries, noirs, etc. that's saying a lot.
>
> i started it but never finished it. not saying i didn't like it tho. matter of circumstances.
>
> --- On Fri, 9/11/09, davezeltserman <Dave.Zeltserman@...> wrote:
>
> From: davezeltserman <Dave.Zeltserman@...>
> Subject: RARA-AVIS: Red Harvest
> To: rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 9:10 PM
>
> I've just finished rereading Red Harvest, partly to answer Jim Doherty's assertion that the novel's an action novel and not a mystery, and mostly to submerge myself again with the Continental Op after reading several hundred pages of some poorly written and really weak commercial thrillers. First off, I have to disagree with Jim's assertion. While Red Harvest has plenty of action, and has it's town cleaning theme, the novel is still structured around a number of mysteries which the Op has to solve. Second, this really is a great book, and easily my favorite crime novel. But then again, I haven't read anyone who's been as consistently great as Hammett.
>
> --Dave
>
>
>
>
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