In a departure from the first four years of the program, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced Tuesday that this year’s One Book, One Denver selection is the late Dashiell Hammett’s “The Thin Man.”
Previously, only books from living authors were chosen. Hammett, who died in 1961, wrote “The Thin Man” in 1934. It was his last novel.
Set in New York City, it hails from what is known as the “hardboiled” detective genre. It was the basis for a 1934 William Powell and Myrna Loy film of the same name.
Hickenlooper said of the change in criteria, “In the fifth year, we decided to be a little more adventurous” and select a “page-turner.”
The story centers on husband-and-wife team Nick and Nora Charles, sometime private detectives who are on the case of a murder in Prohibition-era New York. It’s known for its urbane repartee between the two protagonists and the prodigious amounts of alcohol consumed by its characters. (Hickenlooper said the city is “not holding it up as a role model with all the drinking.”)
Earlier books in the One Book, One Denver program include “Peace Like a River,” by Leif Enger; “Caramelo,” by Sandra Cisneros; “The Milagro Beanfield War,” by John Nichols; and “Articles of War,” by Nick Arvin.
Paperback copies of the book, as well as reading guides, are available at bookstores and the Denver Public Library.
Events such as readings, radio shows, movies, lectures and a writing contest will be held this month and next.
