Aside from Edgar Allan Poe (who, after all, pretty much invented the detective story), the most significant figure in the history of American mystery fiction is Dashiell Hammett, who brought realism to an artificial literary genre.
Contrivance is an essential element in all fiction, but never to a greater degree than in the detective story. This is not a derogatory observation: The ordinary day of even the most colorful people on the planet is filled with the repetitive tedium of just living. Showering, brushing teeth, going to the bathroom, making a pot of coffee, getting dressed, taking out the trash, shopping for groceries, getting a haircut — hardly the stuff of a thrilling or captivating reading experience. Naturally, authors generally devote little attention to these daily events, for which readers are quietly thankful.
Comments