Miker expressed some reservations after reading his first
Hammett, Red Harvest.
In Pulp Fiction (in one of the cut scenes tacked onto the end
of the videotape) the Uma Thurman character gives a liitle
speech to Travolta's Vinnie about there being "Elvis people"
and "Beatles people"; it is possible to like them both, but
ultimately one must choose. She tags Vinnie as an Elvis
person, then goes on to ask him a few more either/or
questions to find out who he really is (Brady Bunch vs.
Partridge Family, etc).
Well, I think in the world of hardboiled fandom, there are
Hammett people and there are Chandler people. From what you
have written, I'll bet you're one of the latter. You don't
get nearly as deep into Hammett's characters as you do into
Chandler's Marlowe. Hammett's heroes are often little more
than their jobs (is it still Work-themed month?). The Op is
literally defined by his job, is never even given a name.
There is a bit more depth to Spade, though it's mostly hinted
at, but he, too, is defined by his professionalism -- what a
man must do for his business partner, even if he doesn't like
him. So it's business, not personal.
We get much deeper into Marlowe's head. We are mmersed in his
values and though he all too often has nothing but his job,
he does occasionally try to look outside it. For instance, he
plays chess. Of course, there's no real connection there
since he plays against famous games in books.
Mark
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