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Do you know anyone whose given name is Dashiell?
No, I don't either.
In fact, the only person I know of with such a name is Dasheill Hammett, who was born in 1894, died in 1961, and was - in the 1920s - pretty much the unquestioned master of detective-story fiction in America.
While visiting the local public library yesterday, I was fetching some books for my mom when I ran across Woman in the Dark, by Dashiell Hammett. Some time ago, I'd read his major novels, which included The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, but Woman in the Dark apparently had only been published as a three-part serial in Liberty magazine in 1933, with a brief resurrection as a pulp paperback in 1950. I added it to the pile of books I'd chosen. (My mom had asked for recommendations, and I was obliging the best way I knew how, by picking out actual books, okay?)
The Hammett book I found in the library was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1988, and contained an appreciation by Robert B. Parker, another one of my favorite authors. Having taken it out (on my mom's card) it was very important for me to read the book before I return home tomorrow afternoon. I finally accomplished the task late this afternnon, despite repeated interruptions from my folks (and a flood in the basement!).
The tale is actually pretty short - only 76 pages - and not very sophisticated in structure or plot. But I can appreciate the brusque, almost bold brush strokes that are there. Neither the hero, Brazil, nor his love interest, Luise Fischer, are very well delineated, but the language and the plot carry the day. I would be happy to have written something of this quality.
Segue.
Despite not having, really, much time alone during my visit, I nonetheless feel that I've been able to rejuvenate during my all-too-brief stay here with my folks. My mind seems clearer; my future path, better defined.
This trip has been a Good Thing.
Cheers...
No, I don't either.
In fact, the only person I know of with such a name is Dasheill Hammett, who was born in 1894, died in 1961, and was - in the 1920s - pretty much the unquestioned master of detective-story fiction in America.
While visiting the local public library yesterday, I was fetching some books for my mom when I ran across Woman in the Dark, by Dashiell Hammett. Some time ago, I'd read his major novels, which included The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, but Woman in the Dark apparently had only been published as a three-part serial in Liberty magazine in 1933, with a brief resurrection as a pulp paperback in 1950. I added it to the pile of books I'd chosen. (My mom had asked for recommendations, and I was obliging the best way I knew how, by picking out actual books, okay?)
The Hammett book I found in the library was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1988, and contained an appreciation by Robert B. Parker, another one of my favorite authors. Having taken it out (on my mom's card) it was very important for me to read the book before I return home tomorrow afternoon. I finally accomplished the task late this afternnon, despite repeated interruptions from my folks (and a flood in the basement!).
The tale is actually pretty short - only 76 pages - and not very sophisticated in structure or plot. But I can appreciate the brusque, almost bold brush strokes that are there. Neither the hero, Brazil, nor his love interest, Luise Fischer, are very well delineated, but the language and the plot carry the day. I would be happy to have written something of this quality.
Segue.
Despite not having, really, much time alone during my visit, I nonetheless feel that I've been able to rejuvenate during my all-too-brief stay here with my folks. My mind seems clearer; my future path, better defined.
This trip has been a Good Thing.
Cheers...
