Oh my . . .
In my opinion, Raymond Chandler is the inventor of the modern American pulp-fiction detective. Oh sure, sure. Most pundits would say American pulp-fiction was actually created by a writer by the name of Dashiell Hammit. And indeed, I'll give credit where credit is due. Hammit arrived on the scene just before the arrival of Chandler. Hammit wrote fast-paced, hard hitting mysteries with bodies dropping on every other page and gun-play that would satisfy any ham-fisted thug. He also filled his pages with dry, sarcastic wordplay that instantly separated his novels from everyone else who came before him.
 |
| Raymond Chandler |
You can't help but find yourself compelled with Hammit's creations. It seems like everyone on the planet has heard the titles to two of his most famous books, i.e.; The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man.
Two novels which I re-read again and again because they're just that satisfying to do.
But look at it this way.
Comparing the two writers is like comparing the sufferings of a patient with a badly ruptured appendicitis. Do you want this poor fellow to walk into a butcher's shop to get the help he needs?
Or would you prefer seeing the patient walk into the waiting room of a world-class surgeon?
That's the difference between Hammit's style of word-play versus Chandler's. The ham-fisted, shoot first and ask no questions later kind of anti-hero. Versus the delicious word play artistry of a reluctant hero forced to step forward to help those who can't, or won't, help themselves.
I urge you to decide for yourself who was the better of the two. Go out and find a copy of Hammit's The Thin Man and read it. And then find a copy of Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely. I'm betting you'll enjoy both. Which one will you enjoy the most?
(And while you're at it, let me know something. Did I misspell Dashiell Hammit's last name? Again?)
