"Red Harvest" is one of the best detective novels I've read. While most such novels concern themselves with one singular crime and related crimes committed to try and thwart the investigation, this one one does away rather quickly with the central crime and goes about a completely new agenda - ridding a town of all its bad actors by pitting each against the other.
While some of the construction is a bit hard to follow due to archaic slang the context allowed one to follow even those rare instances where things weren't quite as clear as they would be had they been written in contemporary language.
I love the fact we never really are sure who the main character is. His name may have been given during a dream recounted later in the novel, but we aren't certain. We know his mind, his actions, but not his name nor anything much about him before he comes on stage.
There is a ton of bloodshed in the book although the reader doesn't necessarily experience this firsthand. In fact, rarely does this happen. We get the set up and then later learn when a player is wiped out. However, we do get a lot of action along the way - fights, bombings, car chases, etc.
I was surprised to learn that the Coen Bros.' movie "Miller's Crossing" was based on this and another of Hammett's novels "The Glass Key" for the original concept. Having seen that movie, I didn't find the book to be familiar at all.
While some of the construction is a bit hard to follow due to archaic slang the context allowed one to follow even those rare instances where things weren't quite as clear as they would be had they been written in contemporary language.
I love the fact we never really are sure who the main character is. His name may have been given during a dream recounted later in the novel, but we aren't certain. We know his mind, his actions, but not his name nor anything much about him before he comes on stage.
There is a ton of bloodshed in the book although the reader doesn't necessarily experience this firsthand. In fact, rarely does this happen. We get the set up and then later learn when a player is wiped out. However, we do get a lot of action along the way - fights, bombings, car chases, etc.
I was surprised to learn that the Coen Bros.' movie "Miller's Crossing" was based on this and another of Hammett's novels "The Glass Key" for the original concept. Having seen that movie, I didn't find the book to be familiar at all.
This is the first novel I ever read.
I wanted to see the movie, which starred Robert Ginty, but my parents refused to let me because it was deemed to be extremely violent. They thought it would be OK if I read the novelization of the movie.
Eventually, I saw the movie and it was tame in comparison to the book. The book was brutal and had a lot of gory details.
If I read the book today, I'd probably find it awful, but at the time I thought it was so cool. I shared all the most disturbing parts with my friends.
Ultimately, it served to start me to read, although I didn't become avid until after I went to college.
I wanted to see the movie, which starred Robert Ginty, but my parents refused to let me because it was deemed to be extremely violent. They thought it would be OK if I read the novelization of the movie.
Eventually, I saw the movie and it was tame in comparison to the book. The book was brutal and had a lot of gory details.
If I read the book today, I'd probably find it awful, but at the time I thought it was so cool. I shared all the most disturbing parts with my friends.
Ultimately, it served to start me to read, although I didn't become avid until after I went to college.
Russell Banks is a fine writer with excellent pacing.
While this book was not really my cup of tea, the story was fairly interesting.
However, the book was written in the first person from the perspective of a protagonist I couldn't relate to or empathize with.
While this book was not really my cup of tea, the story was fairly interesting.
However, the book was written in the first person from the perspective of a protagonist I couldn't relate to or empathize with.
I was expecting the book to be more about layouts, but it was more about graphic design. So, it wasn't what I was interested in. It probably would be more useful to graphic artists.