A
few days after this master writer’s birthday, I present to you a review for...
Title: The Maltese Falcon
Author: Dashiell Hammett
Genre:
Fiction, Mystery
About the book…
First published in 1929, The Maltese Falcon is a twisted story of
betrayal, greed, and desire. When a Miss Wonderly arrives at the office of
Spade and Archer she brings with her the story of a missing sister. However, when
Archer ends up dead while tailing her, Sam Spade gets pulled into a case
involving a lot more than he bargained for as everyone scrambles to obtain the
valuable Maltese falcon statuette.
This classic crime novel was the basis for
not one, but three movie adaptions within a ten year span and one that has
certainly left a lasting impression.
What
I think…
This is the second book by Hammett I’ve read and I enjoyed this
one just as much, if not more, than the first (which in case you’re curious,
was The Thin Man). I had not seen the
movie when I read this, so while I had some knowledge about it, I was in for a
treat.
Hammett has just the right touch when it comes to the hard-boiled detective.
Sam Spade is harsh and bitter, but in such a way you are still rooting for him to
solve the case. Also, the double natures of the characters keep you guessing as
to who is aligned with who and for what purpose with Brigid O’Shaughnessy, Joel
Cairo, and Gutman all proving to be forces to reckon with.
While not one to
care for writing consisting mostly of short and blunt sentences, the noirs and
mysteries of the 20’s through 50’s are an exception in my book. Hammett’s concise
dialogue creates the perfect atmosphere for the plot and characters to develop.
It also really captures the time in which in he was writing.
To
sum it all up…
A perfect detective novel by one of the greats! Exciting,
entertaining, and keeps you wanting more!♥
An appropriate post for the TCM film noir class, since the first "lecture" in on the film version! I watched the movie several years ago but need to re-watch it. I just remember waiting for them to show the falcon.
ReplyDeleteI had planned to do it before knowing about the class, but it coincided perfectly! I watched it over the weekend for the first time before doing this write up.
DeleteI just re-watched the film for the first time in several years. I remember being disappointed with the end when I first saw it but after watching it yesterday I like it a lot more! I love the dialogue! I kept wanting to write down lines but I would have never been able to finish the movie haha. Today I found a pdf of the screenplay!! I am finishing up a post on it that I'll probably publish Wednesday. I put a link to this post in it :)
DeleteOh, thank you for including a link to this!
DeletePost is finally up - http://phyllislovesclassicmovies.blogspot.com/2015/06/summer-of-darkness-week-2-maltese.html. I'm going on a trip soon and my library has this on audio book!!
DeleteLovely post! Hammett is one of my favourite fiction authors ever. Like so many great writers, he lived a troubled, challenging, problem fraught life (including battling both TB and alcoholism), but I think that just helped fuel his creativity all the more.
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
He really is wonderful. Although I have a harder time getting into his writing than I do with Chandler and Cain, I do definitely enjoy his style.
DeleteI've heard of this classic literary mystery, but never really picked it up. I'm not overly drawn to mysteries, though my mom is. I might have to suggest it to her.
ReplyDelete