Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Dashiell Hammett

Quote by Dashiell Hammett

Work

Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett, 1921-1960

This book is a compilation of letters written by Dashiell Hammett, a prominent figure in American literature, from 1921 to 1960. The letters provide a glimpse into his personal experiences, his thoughts on writing, and his interactions with other notable figures of the era. The collection is a valuable resource for understanding Hammett's development as a writer and his place within the literary community. more

Author

Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett

Dashiell Hammett was an American author renowned for his hard-boiled detective novels. His works are characterized by complex plots and deep psychological descriptions, profoundly influencing the genre of detective fiction. more

You May Also Like

“What I try to do is write a story about a detective rather than a detective story. Keeping the reader fooled until the last, possible moment is a good trick and I usually try to play it, but I can't attach more than secondary importance to it. The puzzle isn't so interesting to me as the behavior of the detective attacking it.”

“I believe in the ability of focusing strongly in something, then you are able to extract even more out of it. It's been like this all my life, and it's been only a question of improving it, and learning more and more and there is almost no end. As you go through you just keep finding more and more. It's very interesting, it's fascinating.”

“Play is a subset of voluntary behaviour involving a selective mechanism which reverses the usual contingencies of power so as to permit the subject a controllable and dialectical simulation of the moderately unmastered arousals and regulations of everyday life, in a way that is alternatively vivifying and euphoric.”