So, I'm not going to say, "wow, this is the greatest noir novel I've ever read." It is written by the father of Noir - Dashiell Hammett (Mr Maltese Falcon, and Mr. Thin Man). It was a little difficult to get into it seemed to not want to commit to a story line at first and I was somewhat disappointed when I found out what the glass key was, none the less, I found myself getting drawn into this book obsessing over what the main character would find next. Ned Beaumont (who is always referred to by both names for some odd reason) is not a detective, but he does hire one from time to time. His job title is somewhat nebulous. The best description I can give him is the Gang Leader's number two man. He has profited from his position (as money flowed through his hands like water especially during a time when there wasn't much of it to go around)and this is because he's quite good at what he does: protect his boss, the corrupt Gang Leader and Puppetmaster of the City's Leader. Ned does this by always being able to see three steps ahead of the competition, or at least be able to out-guess them, but finds his job becoming a little too difficult when the body of a the son of a Senator up for re-election (and in his boss's pocket) turns up in Chinatown. Loyalties are tested and everyone who has tried to hone in on his boss's seat of power now see their chance. What's worse, someone is sending the paper, the police and everyone involved in the investigation letter's highly suggestive of the boss's guilt (and perhaps insider knowledge).The prose of the book is the highlight; it is tight and tense and, though it is sparse, quite rich and descriptive. Hammett had a true gift that he spent mostly on popular fiction. I got the feeling that this was his attempt at the great novel that he had in him, because it reads less like a detective novel and more like a piece-of-life novel(he did work as a Private Detective), but life on the tough streets where everyone has a vice and is out for himself. No one is beyond corruption in this world and those who seem most innocent are least trustworthy. It is a grim view of the world, especially since the ones that walk away the least scathed are the least attached to any loyalty. There were deeper themes involved, but I felt so traumatized by this world I just wanted to stop thinking about it once I was done. None the less, though not as literary as a novel could be (and perhaps too literary for a detective novel) it was interesting and I couldn't put it down.
This is on The List? Really? I mean, I understand why The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man are on there, because they're great, but as far as I'm concerned there was no reason to include this one as well. Plainly put, it was dull and confusing. It's more political thriller than detective novel, so if that's your thing you might like this, but any sort of political intrigue drama generally bores me to death unless it's actually a historical political intrigue. There were too many characters introduced too quickly who would then disappear for large sections of the story, making it very difficult to remember who everyone was and why they didn't like each other. The leading ladies are boring as hell (no smartass Nora Charles or evil Brigid O'Shaunessy here; just a hysterical gang moll, a dull gangster's daughter, and a duller politician's daughter, and none of them are even mildly scheming or sassy) and the detective's romantic interest in one of them doesn't make a damn lick of sense. The amateur detective in question is Ned Beaumont, and it's clear that Hammett was going for one of his hard-boiled-yet-charming detective scoundrels, a la Sam Spade or Nick Charles, but the problem is that the charming bad boy is a very sensitive and specific formula, and something was improperly measured when Hammett made Beaumont. Rather than being hard-boiled, he's just an asshole, and all his quips are more smug than funny. I never understood his thought process or motivation, much less why everyone kept talking about what a swell guy he was when clearly he was just a crafty douchebag. The murder victim that the case centers around never gets to make an appearance in the story - we meet him when his body is discovered - and so the death Beaumont is investigating never really seems that important, and the twists and turns that the story took left me mostly perplexed because I never knew what was going on in the first place anyway. It got to the point where I seriously considered just abandoning the book and reading something else, which is not good - I didn't even care who had murdered the guy, because I didn't care about him or any of the people who might have killed him, and I certainly didn't like Beaumont enough to want him to crack the case and get the dame and all that. In a word: boring. Once again, The List has seriously dropped the ball.
What do You think about The Glass Key (2002)?
This murder mystery follows a gambler's attempt to clear the name of a hopelessly corrupt politician he's allied with, when said politician's accused of murdering the local senator's son. I must say that I can definitely understand both why Hammett himself considered "The Glass Key" his masterpiece *and* why many modern-day readers don't enjoy it as much as for example "Red Harvest".One of the things I liked best might turn off other readers: None of the characters are very admirable, most are frequently downright unpleasant, but even the bad guys' minor henchmen come across as rather human. The protagonist Ned Beaumont is also far less noble a figure than the Continental Op or Sam Spade (let alone Philip Marlowe), but I still ended up rooting for him and finding him more sympathetic than he would have been in the hands of lesser writers. The plot gets into quite a few central ethical dilemmas to which it would be hard to imagine any easy solution... something else I imagine frustrates some readers, but for me that just made the story more interesting.Something else I really liked was how lived-in the depictions of San Francisco and New York in the early 1930s felt just through very subtle means, making the cities as much individual characters as any of the people. If I have any complaint, it's that there were a few things in the story I might have understood better if I knew more about American politics in the 1930s. Then again, that's my fault and not the author's!
—Simon
Much has been written to compare Dashiel Hammett with Raymond Chandler as the originator of the hard-boiled crime novel. Hammett is the favourite. I think Chandler was the one that perfected the tough yet somewhat sentimental style that became the hallmark of the genre. Nevertheless, Hammett has an unshakeable status in the genre. Most think The Maltese Falcon is his best work. I prefer The Glass Key with its cynical hero with his heart in the right place and the plot full of betrayal and deceit. It is a must for the genre afficionados. It was the inspiration for the Coen Brothers tour de force, Millers Crossing.
—Ruhi
Hard-boiled at it's finest and a great protagonist in Ned Beaumont. I enjoyed the spin of an amatuer detective who in a different story may have been the one being investigated. The descriptions were vivid and I took particular note of the way Hammett efficiently sketched facial expression and gesture. The conclusion may be seen as a letdown to some. The wrongdoers aren't exposed and punished in a grand way, but Ned just steps out of the story when his work is done. I found it consistant with the protagonist's wants and needs.
—Matthew
