You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Sam Spade is a helluva lot cooler and smarter than James Bond, and nearly a quarter century older. It's a pretty sexist book, but nowhere does it reach Fleming's "homosexuals can't whistle" and "all women Bond doesn't think attractive are dykes". Riveting detective novel.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm worried I'm missing something big. It FELT like I was reading a boring, awkward wannabe movie script with a good ending that didn't made up for all the lead-in.
I've never seen the movie and assume it will be much better. And I don't usually read mysteries. So maybe I'm just too new to the genre to understand what makes this book good.
I've never seen the movie and assume it will be much better. And I don't usually read mysteries. So maybe I'm just too new to the genre to understand what makes this book good.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a classic that I frankly wasn't particularly interested in, but read now (via audio) to fulfill a prompt for a reading challenge I'm doing. I was anxious to complete this audiobook, and therefore didn't have the ideal reading experience to optimize comprehension (i.e. long drives with screaming children, etc.) and did read a summary afterwards to make sure I'd not missed anything. Because it's so easy to miss critical pieces of information in a mystery like this, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the audio.
This was an eh read for me, there weren't really clues for the reader to pick up and try to piece together the mystery, more of just watching a story unfold. This story is SO of its time, and I was stunned by how many women immediately fall in love with/ throw themselves at the main character-- it became almost charming how laughable these women were written.
Overall, I am proud of myself for reading this classic, but don't think I'd recommend it.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I think that the character development was great and would definitely recommend reading this book.
It's always difficult to assess books published so long ago. The Maltese Falcon had been revered for almost a century, been subject of a glorious film adaptation and an influence on so many crime writers since.
There are lots of great lines and interesting characters.
But the style is very dated and it's packed with misogyny, homophobia and casual violence against women. Compared to Chandler and Cain, I'm not sure Hammett's classic has stood the test of time quite as well. The plot is just so overly complex.
There are lots of great lines and interesting characters.
But the style is very dated and it's packed with misogyny, homophobia and casual violence against women. Compared to Chandler and Cain, I'm not sure Hammett's classic has stood the test of time quite as well. The plot is just so overly complex.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Overall, this was a great read. There were plenty of plot twists that kept me barrelling through the story and I loved Sam Spade's character. It gets 4 stars, though, because there were a few parts that were just too hard to swallow in terms of believability.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No