This read-along is now finished, but you can catch up on our full conversation here.
I’m delighted to announce our Christmas read-along! We’re going to read The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett, the writer who invented the hard-boiled crime novel.
What is it?
Our narrator is ex-detective Nick Charles, married to the smart-talking socialite Nora. They plan to spend Christmas in their Manhattan hotel suite together with their pet Schnauzer and a case of Scotch, but instead Charles finds himself investigating a bullet-riddled corpse and a missing inventor.
This is a story of murder and mayhem, gangsters and hoodlums, with a hard-drinking, wisecracking, unforgettable couple at its centre. Nora was modelled on Hammett’s own partner of thirty years, the fiery playwright Lillian Hellman, to whom the book is dedicated.
‘Harsh lights and romantic black shadows,’ summarised Maxim Jakubowski in the Guardian: ‘this is the heyday of American crime writing.’
Why are we reading it now?
The story takes place over Christmas 1932 – between 22 December and 3 January – so it’s a great book to read during the Christmas season.
How will we read it?
The novel is just over 200 pages long and has thirty-one chapters. I suggest we read it over three weeks:
We’ll start reading on Friday 29 November.
On Friday 6th December we’ll discuss Chapters 1 to 13.
On Friday 13th we’ll discuss Chapters 14 to 24.
On Friday 20th we’ll discuss Chapters 25 to 31.
Our posts and conversations will all be collected here.
Which edition should I read?
The Thin Man is published by Penguin in the UK, in two editions: Penguin Modern Classics – this is the edition I have – and Penguin Essentials.
In the USA, it is published by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard with an introduction by Denise Mina:
What if I don’t want to read it?
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I'll be there! And so will my Schnauzer!
First time reading with you Henry. I previously followed you on TikTok and loved your takes on the classics. This isn't my usual go to in a classic so it will be a nice change of pace. Already sped through the first 14 chapters! The dialogue reminds me so much of old movies I watched as a kid where also the martinis never seemed to stop flowing.