The Maltese Falcon

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It's a hit!

I chose this book for a work book club where the genre for the month was mystery. I was very happy with this book. It’s certainly a page turner b... (show more)

I chose this book for a work book club where the genre for the month was mystery. I was very happy with this book. It’s certainly a page turner because you never know who’s double-crossing whom until the end. I’d seen the movie, and found the movie to stay fairly similar to the book. Peter Lorre plays Joel Cairo in the movie, and he does not play him quite so overtly gay as the character is in the movie, but that’s to be expected in the time the movie was filmed.

I found Dashiell Hammett to be a great writer, not just a hard-boiled crime novel writer like most you see. He does a great job of providing enough detail (some very artistic details) without going on for pages about the setting so you can get on with the story. He also doesn’t leave out any important details. I like writers like that – give me enough so I feel like I’m there, but don’t bore me with every little detail either. The story itself is very interesting, but maybe I find it so because I’m a fan of this time-period and of conspiritoral history. If I had a criticism for the book, it would be that I’m not a big fan of the stereotypes played out in this book, both of women and of gay men, but I chalk it up to the times in which it was written.

The way that the details of who-did-what unfolds is great. Very fast-paced. The story that has been my husband’s favorite movie for years, is now one of my very highly regarded novels. I never thought I’d be a fan of this genre, but I encourage others to check this book out for themselves. It’s a wonderful classic! (show less)

 

 

by Facebook narys

No, it's a flop!

Watch the movie and you've read the book in 1 hour 40 mins. Plays exactly like the movie.

A prime example of the Classic Detective Novel. Ha... (show more)

Watch the movie and you've read the book in 1 hour 40 mins. Plays exactly like the movie.

A prime example of the Classic Detective Novel. Hard cutting plot line with an overbearing undercurrent of sex and liquor. Sam Makes no excuses for his actions. He is the mans man. Favorite line is the last " It's the stuff dreams are made of" you can't make this material up. Its the genuine article.

Sam Spade knows his role in life and doesn't get caught up in the game. He eagerly takes his piece of pie and plays all parties to the T. It's not the detectives role to be a pawn or the queen. He's the black knight that forces your hand. Excellent. (show less)

 

 

by Jeff Morris

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  "Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree?"

  Dashiell Hammett was an extraordinary writer. His short stories and novels gave birth to the concept of the `hard-boiled detective'. Another great writer, Raymond Chandler wrote that Hammett "did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before." Maltese Falcon is Hammett at the top of his game. It is a must read for those who haven't ... (show more)

  "Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree?"

  Dashiell Hammett was an extraordinary writer. His short stories and novels gave birth to the concept of the `hard-boiled detective'. Another great writer, Raymond Chandler wrote that Hammett "did over and over again what only the best writers can ever do at all. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before." Maltese Falcon is Hammett at the top of his game. It is a must read for those who haven't read it, or only seen the Humphrey Bogart movie. For a fan of Hammett it is certainly worth reading again.

  "Everybody's looking for something. Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to get used by you. Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be abused by you."

  The plot of Maltese Falcon is well-known and the above bit of lyrics seems to sum up its essence. A strange, alluring woman, Brigid O'Shaughnessy, walks into the door of Archer & Spade, two San Francisco detectives. Miles Archer, a man wit an eye for the ladies, particularly those willing to pay top dollar for his services agrees to take on an assignment. He is killed that night and it is left to his surviving partner, Sam Spade, to put the matter to rest. In no time at all Spade is embroiled with a cast of characters that includes O'Shaughnessy, Joel Cairo, Kasper Gutman, and Wilmer Cook. They are all embarked on a quest, a murderous quest as it turns out, for "the Maltese Falcon" a jewel-encrusted falcon lost from view since the Middle Ages and worth more money than one can imagine.

  Hammett draws each character with a vivid eye for detail and for sharp prose that comes at you like bullets from Spade's revolver. Spade has seen it all. He spots O'Shaughnessy as a sharpie from the get go but seems to fall for her despite himself. Cairo is both unctuous, effeminate and Gutman (the fat man as Spade calls him) is smooth talking and the brains behind the search for the falcon. Wilmer Cook is a vicious thug but Spade, being the hard-boiled detective quickly spots him for the minor-leaguer that he is. As the story nears its end the loose strings sort themselves out and the smoke clears. Spade is forced to make a choice but in the world created by Hammett people like Spade have a certain code. It doesn't matter that they aren't sophisticated, Ivy-League educated, parlor-room detectives. It doesn't matter that they speak the way a street-cop pounding a beat would speak and don't always observe the niceties of the Queen's English. There are rules that must be followed and tough choices must be made.

  It seems impossible to review this book without reference to the movie. The John Huston directed movie was and remains a classic. It was a terrific adaptation. There are some interesting differences worth noting. Hammett was far more direct in acknowledging the illicit relationship between Sam Spade and Iva Archer, Miles' widow. Spade's cavalier love them and leave them attitude was also more in evidence in the book. He was also direct, quite blunt in fact, in pointing out the `orientation' or `preference' of Joel Cairo. The way Hammett paints the relationship between Cairo (Peter Lorre) and the gun-slinging Wilmer Cook was fascinating.

  If you like Dashiell Hammett you don't me need to tell you that it is worth reading again. If you are new to Hammett, this book is a terrific place to start. I do not think you will be disappointed. (show less)

   

   

  by Leonard Fleisig on Sep 03, 2009 at 03:53AM

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  The Maltese Falcon was a book referenced in my Open University course. The course just referred to a couple of pages from the first chapter Iit’s beautifully written and I wanted to read more.
  Sam Spade is a private investigator - the emphasis here should be on private. He keeps his clients secrets confidential and his own motives and emotions to himself. The mystery in the book is not that of the Maltese Falcon but what makes Sam Spade tick. It’s not the girl, loyalty to his partner, money... (show more)

  The Maltese Falcon was a book referenced in my Open University course. The course just referred to a couple of pages from the first chapter Iit’s beautifully written and I wanted to read more.
  Sam Spade is a private investigator - the emphasis here should be on private. He keeps his clients secrets confidential and his own motives and emotions to himself. The mystery in the book is not that of the Maltese Falcon but what makes Sam Spade tick. It’s not the girl, loyalty to his partner, money or saving his own skin. At the end of the book when Spade say’s ‘You will never understand me,’ he means it.
  It’s a great story. All the characters have their agendas, secrets and lies. They are all focused on obtaining the fabulous, bejewelled, golden statue of a falcon. Police following Spade following criminals looking for the falcon. The police are far behind the action and seem to want to pin the murders on Spade. Spade might be in the employ of the beautiful Miss Wonderly (or is it Brigid O’ Shaughnessy?) or the camp foreigner Joel Cairo. The criminals are forced to work together while contemplating treachery against each other at every turn. The story keeps the excitement dial on eleven.
  The book is very evocative of the period. It was published in the UK in the nineteen thirties and it’s that kind of Al Capone, John Dillinger atmosphere that is created and located in San Francisco.
  I’m very glad I read this book. It’s a great period piece of American literature that is simple and straight forward to read and captures the imagination. (show less)

   

   

  by Ian Gilbert on Sep 01, 2009 at 09:15PM

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