General book club questions for study and discussion. The thin man, published in 1933, was the last book dashiell hammett wrote. As a member or leader of a book club, you are likely to be reading books on a wide variety of topics, both fiction and nonfiction. The thin man is a comedy of manners mixed with a solid mystery. To be honest, im not sure if im giving this a 4 because the story is that. In this detective novel, dashiell hammett introduced what became the iconic. In the book, the thin man of the title is actually the missing inventor clyde wynant, not the detective.
For example, there are a few ethnic references that probably wouldnt be acceptable by todays standards. I read this book many years ago and loved hammetts writting i was however not as thrilled with this audio version. No matter the genre, age, notoriety, or length of the book of the moment, book club questions can kickstart or enhance your group discussion. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. But it might as well refer to hammett himself the movie makes this connection clear, placing its opening title card over an iconic photograph of hammett on the cover of his novel. Weilands eletter and receive her free ebook crafting unforgettable. Return of the thin man and millions of other books are available for instant access. Immediately download the the thin man summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching the thin man. The thin man is a sort of noir comic by one of the greats of noir crime history, dashiell hammett, who is best known for creating sam spade in the maltese falcon. This collection of essays covers all six movies, including detailed plot breakdowns, quotes, trivia, discussion of motifs, looks at the many spinoffs of the. Although the things they carried contains a story called the man i killed, it is unclear whether obrien actually killed anyone in vietnam. The thin man, dashiell hammetts classic tale of murder in manhattan, became the popular movie series with william powell and myrna loy, and both the movies and the novel continue to captivate new generations of fans nick and nora charles, accompanied by their schnauzer, asta, are lounging in their suite at the normandie in new york city for the christmas holiday.
This one features the lush drinking duo nick and nora charles and opens very much like a screwball. It became one of the defining films of the classic era in the comedydetective subgenre. The thin red line is american author james joness fourth novel. Learn the major plot points and story structure of the thin man. What happened is that wealthy clyde wynant is missing, and his daughter dorothy wants nick to help find him. Van dyke, with william powell, myrna loy, maureen osullivan, belongs at turner classic movies.
Its attempt at analysis raise d the essay from a score of 1, but the quality of analysis does. The thin man free pdf, chm, doc, fb2 books library. A book analysis paper describes factual and personal information regarding a literature work in a short essay form. Hammetts portrayal of sophisticated new york cafe society during prohibition and his witty protagonists nick and nora charles made this the most popular of his works, if not the most successful critically nick charles is a former detective who has given up his profession to manage his wife noras lumber fortune, which allows. A literary analysis is a common academic assignment, usually given to students in both high school and college level english courses. Red harvest 1929, the dain curse 1929, and the glass key 1931 are among his most successful novels. The titular thin man of dashiell hammetts 1934 novel is clyde wynant, a thin man made thinner after his body is left decaying in quicklime for months. The thin man by dashiell hammett was published in the magazine redbook in 1934. There is a grand clue in enotes character sketch of gilbert wynant often referred to as gil as. Everything you need to understand or teach the thin man by woody van dyke. It draws heavily on joness experiences at the battle of mount austen, the galloping horse, and the sea horse during world war iis guadalcanal campaign. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. The slender gentleman of the title is a character in the novel. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, the thin man is a classic murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners.
Paused youre listening to a sample of the audible audio edition. Ive always loved the thin man movies so i thought id try out the book. Nick charles represents an elegant, witty departure from his contemporaries. The thin man 1932 offered another immortal sleuth, nick charles. I was inspired to read the book after catching a marathon of the thin man. In dashiell hammetts famous crime novel, we meet one of the detectivestory masters most enchanting creations, nick and nora charles, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. The thin man by dashiell hammett, first edition abebooks passion for books. Search the database to find exactly what youre looking for. Wynant, the father of two adult children, dorothy and gilbert, has recently left his wife after having a relationship with his secretary, julia wolf.
At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, the thin man is a murder mystery that doubles as a sophisticated comedy of manners. Sometimes youll see it as the hook the very first event, but note how its placement here allows the story to set up its charactersboth the protagonists and the players in the crimein its first eighth. The thin man by dashiell hammett 25,926 ratings, 3. He wrote two fulllength novellas for the films that became after the thin man and another thin man. The thin man, novel by dashiell hammett, published in 1934. The story structure database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points. The thin man 1934 is the first installment of a popular series of six films casting a sophisticated, glamorous, pleasureseeking, and urbane husbandwife detective team william powell and myrna loy as nick and nora charles. Dylan recorded ballad of a thin man in studio a of columbia records in new york city, located at 799 seventh avenue, just north of west 52nd street on august 2, 1965.
The thin man 1934 is a detective novel by dashiell hammett, originally published in the december 1933 issue of redbook. For example, i wasnt particularly challenged or inspired to figure out. The movie version of the thin man is also highly recommended. A literary analysis is an argumentative analysis about a literary work. But the thin man was also a well known and much read series, and maybe still is. This book is a wonderful companion to the thin man series. By 1933, when hammett published the thin man, the hardboiled detective novel was a wellestablished american genre, with its disillusioned, tough investigators markedly distinct from their european antecedents. The movies remain a fantastic showcase of the talents and chemistry of william powell and myrna loy. Whether you are a diehard fan who has seen them all multiple times or someone who has only just discovered the magic of these films, the essays and documentation in the book is sure to enhance your enjoyment. The thin man by hammett, dashiell and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. That the thin man cost so little and looks so good is possibly because the interiors are simple and elegant, and the black and white photography flatters the loungewear and formalwear worn by a greatlooking cast which in addition to powell and loy, included maureen osullivan and a young cesar romero. Thoughts on the thin man reflects on these famous films, looking back at dashiell hammetts original inspiration, the genesis of the films, and the men and women who made them possible. While charles is, in many respects, another example of the hardboiled detective, the novel is unique in its light comic tone, which fitted it for popular adaptations in a series of thin man films.
The fifth and final novel from the father of the modern american mystery. The description that charles gives of wynant tallover six feetand one of the. Dashiell hammetts novel, the thin man launched one of the golden ages greatest detective movie franchises, along with a popular radio program, as well as a 1950s syndicated tv series. Rather than retelling a story, analyzing a book entails asking critical questions about the authors and the characters motivations. The problem with putting two and two together is that sometimes you get four, and sometimes you get twentytwo. Following the enormous success of the thin man movie in 1934, mr. Nick charles is a former detective who has given up his profession. The thin man is the last novel hammett completed though he started or pretended to start a halfdozen others and it has the feel of being a parady of his other novellas and the 1930s crime genre in general. Dive deep into dashiell hammetts the thin man with extended analysis, commentary. After being assigned to write a brief piece about the mountain for outside magazine, krakauer manages to convince his bosses to fund a fullfledged expedition to the top.
What do you think gilberts function is in the thin man. In a mystery, the first murder will almost always be the inciting event. In the film gumshoe1971, who noticed the book, the thin man, opened and in front of the seated main character. Whether you are discussing characters and their actions, setting, theme, or images, having a guide to questions. Identify himher quickly by name, age, era, locale, social class, family, and occupation. The nick and nora in this book dont have the pure level of charm and chemistry that made the movies so enjoyable. Click to read more about the thin man by dashiell hammett.
The thin man by dashiell hammett, first edition abebooks. During world war ii, hammett again served as sergeant in the army, this time for more than two years, most of which he spent in the aleutians. Claude wynants son gilbert, for example, is not merely nosy but, as a. Some questions to use in analyzing novels nebraska. At once knowing and unabashedly romantic, the thin man is a murder. The thin man opens in the workshop of clyde wynant, a tall, thin, wealthy inventor and businessman. The thin man by dashiell hammett published in 1934 by alfred a. Man films, despite the literal thin man perishing in the only book. Nor does it refer to the books author, whose spare frame often illustrates book jackets of the thin man. The book title, by the way, does not refer to the detective as many people seem to think. How does shame fit into obriens portrayal of the war experience. The plot is interesting, and enough different to imagine shaping the movie version.
Hammett never wrote a sequel but the book became the basis for a successful sixpart film series, which also began in 1934 with the thin man and starred william powell and myrna loy. Record producer bob johnston was in charge of the session, and the backing musicians were mike bloomfield on lead guitar, bobby gregg on drums, harvey goldstein on bass, al kooper on. A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists. Exdetective nick charles and his socialite wife nora find their christmas holiday interrupted when nick is pulled into the investigation of a former acquaintances disappearance. The thin man by dashiell hammett and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Although some summary is needed within the argument of a literary analysis, the objective is not to write a report about a book or story. In the book, the thin man of the title is actually. The thin man was dashiell hammetts lastand most successfulnovel. Discover what genre the thin man, 1934, directed by w. Our original goal was to compile a comprehensive reference book of common inservice oil analysis techniques to help readers understand and choose the right technique and.
It has been a few years since the publication of the first edition of spectro scientifics inservice oil analysis handbook. The goal of a literary analysis assignment is to examine a particular piece of writing youve read, explore the authors choices or particular method of writing, and draw a new and interesting conclusion from that examination. Hammett was commissioned to write stories for additional films. This study guide consists of approximately 21 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the thin man. Journalist jon krakauer is looking to fulfill a childhood ambition by finally climbing mount everest. The author served in the united states armys 27th infantry regiment, 25th infantry division. Nick and nora charles are hammetts most enchanting creations, a rich, glamorous couple who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. I recently found out that nick was not the thin man but now i know the rest of the story from the original book. Literary analysis sample paper august 2016 provided by the academic center for excellence 1. Following the enormous success of the thin man movie in 1934.
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