Dashiell Hammett

The Maltese Falcon (Read a Great Movie)

One of the greatest crime novels of the 20th century. 'His name remains one of the most important and recognisable in the crime fiction genre. Hammett set the standard for much of the work that would follow' Independent Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and when Spade's partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby's trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, a treasure worth killing for, before the Fat Man finds him?

The Maltese Falcon

John Nettles

Great book

Entertaining and well written. Interesting look back on a nostalgic, if gritty, era. I was a little nervous at the first 20 pages or so but things really picked up. Sam Spade is a perplexing character, one that certainly could not exist in today’s political climate. I wonder if such characters more accurately a reflection of the moral zeitgeist or of something more permanent.

Laura Mauler

Barbara Williford

What starts out as a typical pulp fiction story, with the helpless dame needing help from the worldly and suave PI turns quick. This story is full of intrigue, mystery as well as twist and turns with the final twist in the end. The characters are well developed and continue to develop as the story unfolds. the audible was amazing. The narration was excellent. The narrator captures the characters well.

The Maltese Falcon (10 Copies).

Book Club

Colleen

I had The Maltese Falcon as assigned reading for a college English Lit class. I waited for weeks for my hold from the library to arrive, but when it hadn't arrived by the day before I was due to be tested on it, I was left scrambling. I had to go to four bookstores to find a copy of it. (Apparently, despite it's Classic status, it is not read much other than for assigned reading.) So I finally found a copy, bought it, sped-read through it in one night, and managed to pull an A on my paper. As the teacher was discussing the book afterwards, I remember thinking that I should probably go back and read it thoroughly because it sounded like something I would really enjoy. So my overpriced copy of The Maltese Falcon has been sitting on my bookshelf ever since. Since my 2015 reading challenge includes revisiting a book I was supposed to read in school, I finally picked it back up. 

I remembered the basic outline of the story. Oddly, the only thing I remembered vividly was a side story that the main character tells in order to demonstrate the theme that "people never change." But the details were definitely lost to me, and discovering them afresh was delightful. 

The Maltese Falcon is very deserving of its status as a classic. Hammett is responsible for taking mysteries and thrillers in a whole new direction and fostering the new sub-genre of Noir/Hardboiled Detective novels. Hammett's style has been much imitated although many of the modern knockoffs do not come anywhere near to his effortless bravura. Despite being written in a very different era, this novel does not feel too dated. Certainly there are antiquated details such as a having to use an operator and switchboard to call someone, but you don't get hung up on those details and this should be an easy read for modern booklovers. There were a few gangster era colloquialisms that I had to look up, but they were used sparingly. And I loved the authenticity that they added. 

The story has a straightforward start: private eye Sam Spade is hired for a seemingly straightforward case. He is quickly drawn into a spider's web of murder, greed, and intrigue. I won't spoil the plot though; that would take the fun out of it.

Sam Spade may not be your typical hero, but he certainly stands out. Despite being more than a little shady and frankly a jerk, I was still routing for him. He has that tough guy persona: hard-hitting, unflappable, shrewd, confident, instigating, and always one step ahead. One is never certain where Spade's loyalties lie other than that he has a strong survivalist instinct. The characters in this book are fascinating. This book also features an iconic Femme Fatal which is one of the aspects I most love about this genre. Never underestimate a woman!

Hammett's writing style is simplistic at first glance but complex as you dig into the novel. Like his main character, his descriptions are straightforward and to the point. This is one of the areas where Hammett's personal experience as a detective for the Pinkerton Men shines through. With the efficiency of a detective, every detail is quickly observed and noted never dwelling too long on any facet. This is much of what gives the novel its brusque tone. The tone is what very much defines the Noir style. And I do like Noir very much. Hammett's work is a beacon to by-gone days. There is a certain classiness in the way he is unsentimental and rough without being crude or vulgar. (Something else that many modern writers have lost the ability to discern.) He toes the line, but knows when to be explicit and when to merely allude to something.

What I noticed most about Hammett's imagery was his use of colors when describing things. And in keeping with his blunt style, the colors descriptors used are plain rather than flamboyant (think basic eight pack of crayons rather than the jumbo box. You won't catch Hammett using words like cerulean, aubergine, or chartreuse.) Certain colors are repeatedly used to describe people. This reiteration is not due to lack of creativity but rather to strategic repetition. I spent a good deal of time trying to see if the colors panned out to deliberate symbolism (yellow equaling cunningness, brown being dependability, blue being false innocence, black equaling greed), however applying that degree of symbolism to the colors might be a stretch on my part. Still, it was an effective technique that complemented the style.

What I love best about this book, was the witty dialogue. Much of book is filled with the lightning fast back and forth between the characters. Spade manages to get in a considerable amount of snappy one-liners. Here are a few of my favorites:

Joel Cairo: “You always have a very smooth explanation.” 
Sam Spade: “What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?”

"You'll have to figure that out for yourself. My way of learning is to heave a wild and unpredictable monkey-wrench into the machinery. It's all right with me, if you're sure none of the flying pieces will hurt you."

“Listen, Dundy, it's been a long time since I burst into tears because a policeman didn't like me.”

And finally as Spade himself says, "You will quote that line at some time in the future...you know you will." And indeed, people are still quoting this book almost a century later and surely will be for many years to come.

RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Attention to Detail: 5 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

This review fulfills the "Book You Were Supposed to Read in School But Didn't" category of the Popsugar reading challenge. http://www.popsugar.com/love/Reading-...

Midori Kobayashi

4/5stars


My way of learning is to heave a wild and unpredictable monkey-wrench into the machinery.



This is one of those classics which everyone and their mothers had already before I was even born. So I had to see what the hype was surrounding it. And needless to say, it definitely was one of the those which deserve all the hype and then some. The plot building, the character arcs for some people and the overall progression of the story was all so so good! 



Joel Cairo: You always have a very smooth explanation ready.
Sam Spade: What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?



Sam Spade is a whole lot of mystery in himself. It begins with him being presented as a man of zero conscience but is he really that way? (view spoiler)[his character arc at the end of the story was DAMN GOOD! (hide spoiler)] Tho, I was a little disappointed with the ending of the book (view spoiler)[wrt the finding of the bird (hide spoiler)], but I just found out there are other books in the series? So I might just get some more answers.



When a man's partner is killed he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. Then it happens we were in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. It's bad all around-bad for that one organization, bad for every detective everywhere.



Overall a fun read, I hadn't read a good detective fiction in a while and I have finally checked this off the list so yeah a win-win.

Keernan Lanismore

Would have preferred more action but was an enjoyable read probably because it is so famous. Not sure how I would rate it if I didn’t know of its fame.

Dave | Storyphoria

Fans of classic crime noir stories, fans of detective mysteries, and fans of cranky protagonists will find a lot to enjoy with this story.

While the overall story was fun and the twisty plot was enjoyable, ultimately the problems start to weigh heavy by the end and drag this one down a little bit.

FULL REVIEW AT:
https://storyphoria.substack.com/p/th...

Storyphoria Story Club discussion about this book AND movie can be heard here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3VEU...

Jenna

I haven't read any books like this before- noir mystery books, I guess. While I was reading this I felt like I could picture it as an old movie. It was a fun and easy read, with interesting characters and a good ending.

Sarah Escorsa

Dashiell Hammett at his best, a fantastic book!

Daryl Houston

Overwrought and ham-handed. I guess I didn't expect much different, but this one was pretty painful. I enjoyed The Thin Man more, and I still like Rex Stout more. I read a Chandler novel early in the year that I thought was more substantial too.

El halcón maltés

Jose Vera

Es el cliché de la novela negra... pero es el creador de los clichés, la muejr fatal, el detective duro y de dudoso comportamiento, la policia tan despiadada y despistada como el propio detective.

Es una novela que vale la pena leer, pero sólo por el hecho de ser una de las principales referencias de la novela negra. Es estilo de Hammett no me parece muy bueno ni muy pulido, creo que algunos dialogos son demasiado afectados y largos (quizas la época, quizas la traducción), sin embargo no puedo negar que pese a conocer ya la historia, no deja de ser interesante.

Ben Nathan

Classic Noir. I enjoyed the fact that the endings for the book and the movie were distinctly different but both awesome.

Three novels involving private detectives and shady characters tackle homicide, treachery, and corruption.

The Maltese Falcon (Read a Great Movie)

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