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A review by karieh13
Return of the Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett
3.0
As a die-hard fan of the Thin Man movies, reading “Return of the Thin Man” was a wonderful experience. My husband and I have watched these fabulous movies too many times to count – and we own 5 of the 6. Even after dozens of viewings, I still find myself laughing at some of the dialogue.
Turns out that dialogue was true, down to the very word, to the novellas written by Hammett, who, of course, created the delightful characters of Nick and Nora Charles. Reading these two stories was like reading the movies. I could vividly picture William Powell and Myra Loy delivering the snappy lines and reacting to each other in the way that makes the movies so remarkable.
Because these were written as the basis for the screenplay, the reader is not allowed behind the scenes – we do not get to know the characters feelings or thoughts, other than the way we are told they react. On the plus side, the reader does get too look behind the curtain (a bit) in regards to the details about the making of the movies.
Dashiell Hammett created two of my favorite fictional characters and it was a great chance to get to experience their world again in a different way than what I have seen on the screen.
Turns out that dialogue was true, down to the very word, to the novellas written by Hammett, who, of course, created the delightful characters of Nick and Nora Charles. Reading these two stories was like reading the movies. I could vividly picture William Powell and Myra Loy delivering the snappy lines and reacting to each other in the way that makes the movies so remarkable.
Because these were written as the basis for the screenplay, the reader is not allowed behind the scenes – we do not get to know the characters feelings or thoughts, other than the way we are told they react. On the plus side, the reader does get too look behind the curtain (a bit) in regards to the details about the making of the movies.
Dashiell Hammett created two of my favorite fictional characters and it was a great chance to get to experience their world again in a different way than what I have seen on the screen.