This one's a real mess. Strung together from its original serialization in Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s, it has the distinction of being the firstThis one's a real mess. Strung together from its original serialization in Black Mask Magazine in the 1920s, it has the distinction of being the first "Hard-boiled" detective novel published (1928). Wordy in a way that writing for a penny a word might make a writer. Interesting read from a historical perspective of the genre only. Hammett did twice as much with half the words and is the better read for 1920-30s crime fiction....more
The “red harvest” of the title is blood and by the time the Continental Op leaves town, Poisionville is awash with a bumper crop. Been a long time sinThe “red harvest” of the title is blood and by the time the Continental Op leaves town, Poisionville is awash with a bumper crop. Been a long time since I first read this book and rereading it now I was surprised how un-dated it seemed. Partly that is due to style: Hammett was among the first to write the fast paced realistic prose that we are no so accustomed to and that defines the genre. Hammett also keeps description to a minimum. He focuses on describing action rather scene painting or describing minute details in search of verisimilitude. Characters talk on phones, drive cars, and shoot guns. Because the descriptions are sparse it could be 1929 or 2014. Who cares? The cop and gangster slang is the only thing that really dates the book to the 1920s.
But this is 2014 and I was struck by a couple of contemporary analogs. Red Harvest reads a bit like a season of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire: A city coming apart at the seams as corrupt cops and gangsters fight for control. Also, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series of books clearly owes a lot to Red Harvest. Stylistically, for sure, but also the Continental Op at one point says he can’t leave town because there’s been two attempts on his life so he has to stay to “clean up” the town. That’s what always draws Reacher in deeper: the bad guys cross the line and make it personal.
Anyway, still a good, fast paced, well plotted, and engaging crime novel. And one without the extra 200 pages of bloat that is typical of the current bestsellers....more
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