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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
it reads almost scene for scene like the movie which is probably b/c the movie was made after it but i think the film only added 1 scene and 1 additional character. which if it was remade today they would have completely done the book no justice and added lame action sequences everywhere... anywho it was still fun to read and the charaters were awesome.
mysterious
fast-paced
I've read it twice and it is so fresh despite being decades old and done to death (pun intended) everywhere. More like a beloved painting that you can watch forever.
Talk about not aging well, but that aside, kinda snores-ville, but then again I read/listen to a lot of mysteries and thus I cannot judge how good this would have been when it came out. I do feel the need to go watch the movie again as I am thinking the reason this book is loved is at least partially due to the performances in the film being mentally transposed on the book characters... and that this may be the case for all the 'hard-boiled detective tropes,' with both the movies and radio performances made from and inspired by them, not that that's a bad thing, just interesting.
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Who doesn’t love a good mystery?
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the classic tough-guy detective solving the crime. Honestly, I have never read this book before, and I am glad that I had the opportunity to because of my book group. I actually enjoyed the edgy, who-dun-it stereotypical murder mystery. It was a good read that reminded me that the basic detective novel is a unique genre in itself.
A great pot-boiler to rip through in a few days. Easy to see why it was so influential in crime fiction and the later noir genre. It's also kind of incredible how much of the book is taken up by characters just speaking to each other in one of a few rooms. Must've made adaptations pretty easy! That said, even 90 years later, it's sort of incredible to come across a character as flinty and unsentimental as Sam Spade.
I'm probably doing The Maltese Falcon an injustice with only three stars but it has dated a bit particularly the dialog which now just sounds comical. I found myself reading this book with a Humphrey Bogart accent which was a little disconcerting.