“Dashiel drank like a man who didn’t plan to live past next Tuesday.”
Dashiel Hammet is in the very top tier of mystery writing, alongside Raymond Chandler for the hard-boiled, alcoholic, not-giving-a-fuck private eye who has a compassionate side buried deep beneath ultimate machismo. I’d like to believe that this has something to do with the writer himself, old Dash, but all I can say for certain was that he drank too much. And so:
Nick and Nora Charles, hanging about in a hotel, toasting the health of their friends four or five times before lunch. Straight up: Nick has two drinks before he gets in the shower, one afterwards, and then meets his friend for an early lunch (of two drinks) at eleven in the morning, to discuss business. Like, hey Nick, we know you worked for this guy and might be able to help find him and holy sweet god are you loaded it’s not even noon! Truly, all class.
This does not take away from the fact that Nick Charles is a fine detective, and his wife Nora has some skills in her own right. They host in a manner that would shame Amy Winehouse, and don’t shy when it comes to being hard-as-fuck with tough guys and guns. Hammet is superbly influential and you can see why almost every mystery author since praises the man to no end. The prose is amazing, the dialogue never misses a beat, and the characters are just so damned good.
Nick-“Don’t you think a drink would help you to sleep?”
Nora-“ No, thanks.”
Nick-“Maybe if I had one.”
Proceed to scotch and soda. Short, sweet, completely badass. Try Red Harvest on for size as well.
—–
~Sam Scrimger
Widdershins Lit 