Breathe, Robert. Breathe.
I’m finally done with Possession and can once again enjoy reading and writing on this blog. And there’s no better way to follow up a stuffy, academic novel about Victorian poets than with a 200 page detective novel.
Enter Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. Great name, by the way.
Here’s a few facts about Red Harvest and Mr. Dashiell Hammett:
- Red Harvest was published in 1929 and is narrated by The Continental Op, a recurring character in Hammett’s fiction.
- The novel was originally published as a four-part serial piece for the pulp magazine, Black Mask.
- Surprisingly, a feature film of Red Harvest has never been made. According to Wikipedia, Bernardo Bertolucci considered adapting the novel in the 1970s, possibly starring Robert Redford, Jack Nicholson, or Warren Beatty, but the project never happened.
- The working title for Return of the Jedi was Blue Harvest, a play off Hammett’s novel.
- The title of the Coen Brothers film Blood Simple comes from a line in Red Harvest.
- Dashiell Hammett is widely regarded as one of the greatest mystery writers of all time.
- Hammett was blacklisted by Congress in 1953 due to his ties to the Communist party.
I got to say I’m excited about this read. It’s light. It’s short. And it’s not Possession.
Cheers to book #70: Red Harvest!
