Hemingway said that all modern American literature sprang
from Mark Twain. As for Hemingway's being more influential on
the hard-boiled writers of the 30s than someone like Hammett,
I think it's possible that you are correct in your assertion,
but it is possible to stretch this comparison too far.
Take Chandler, for example. Although he was clearly
influenced by Hammett, Philip Marlowe seems to have an awful
lot of Jake Barnes in him as well. With Hammett there is a
cynicism (especially in things featuring the Continental Op,
like Red Harvest, and The Dain Curse), but I don't see the
same level of world-weary angst (with the possible exception
of Sam Spade at the end of The Maltese Falcon) in Hammett's
heroes as I do in Chandler's stuff. They seem far more
accepting of the world in which they operate.
Also, while Chandler is cited over and over again as a
leading influence in Parker's work, I think that Hammett's
influence gets overlooked. After all, The Thin Man is a real
howler, with repartee, dialogue that sparkles after nearly
three quarters of a century, and Nick and Nora Charles
serving as a sort of blueprint for Spenser's relationship
with his Nora, Susan Silverman.
Just my two cents.
Brian Thornton
At 04:07 PM 5/9/02 -0700, you wrote:
<<Here's another quotation that some of you will
appreciate:
"As Richard Bridgman has recently demonstrated in his book
The Colloquial Style in America, the tough style is a form of
colloquila style which descends most directly from Mark
Twain.">>
I think this is substantially correct. Twain revolutionized
writing in America. You can see a before and an after Twain.
Just to muddle things a little, or to add to the general
hardboiledseasickness in the air*, I would add John Dos
Passos as a source of literary toughness, alongside
Hemingway. Ellroy follows Dos Passos pretty closely at
times...
[*I claim a "special I, the jury prize" for worst metaphor
ever]
Regards,
MrT
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