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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
I don't know what else I was expecting. It is fun to see where early film noir got its start and lead to classics like Chinatown. A beautiful woman, a morally dubious detective, a murder... you can see where this is going. "Tough break, punk!"
There's something about mood and atmosphere that was missing from this book but were beautifully illustrated in the film adaptation and later noir. Not that fiction can't create those things (read any William Gibson book), but there's only so much that exposition in dialogue and tortured descriptions of people's facial expressions can do. Worth reading on the beach and falling asleep to!
There's something about mood and atmosphere that was missing from this book but were beautifully illustrated in the film adaptation and later noir. Not that fiction can't create those things (read any William Gibson book), but there's only so much that exposition in dialogue and tortured descriptions of people's facial expressions can do. Worth reading on the beach and falling asleep to!
Un romanzo da 4 stelle degradato a 3 per un capitolo finale decisamente non all'altezza con i 19 precedenti. Questi ultimi pervasi da un ritmo incalzante, complice la penna asciutta di Hammett, colpi di scena, toni sferzanti, ed un esemplare furto d'arte degno di attenzione; il finale, invece, propone un tono melenso davvero stonato con il resto, oltre a diventare ripetitivo fino alla nausea, sia nei contenuti, quanto nel lessico.
Peccato, ma è sempre un piacere leggere Dashiellone. Che per chi non lo conoscesse, è uno dei padri dell'hardboiled.
Per chi non conoscesse l'hardboiled, questo è uno stile che sommariamente appare caratterizzato da alcuni tratti distintivi (presenti ovviamente anche ne Il falco maltese):
-c'è un detective, a volte più mafioso che onesto, estremamente alcolizzato, spesso grasso, e sempre, inspiegabilmente, in grado di accalappiare qualunque femmina dotata di buon senso e non
-c'è una vedova alta e bionda. Occhio che se non la trovate, forse abbiamo sbagliato genere
-c'è una quantità inusuale di cazzotti, pistole, altri arnesi dispensa-morte, ancora pugni e cazzotti
-c'è la femme fatale. Questa si muove al limite della legalità, fa gli occhioni dolci, sguardo super sexy, e riesce a fregare (quasi) tutti
-c'è un numero ampio ma variabile di gente corrotta, che va dalla polizia (sempre inutile) ad altri funzionari (anch'essi inutili)
-ci sono le notti infinite, spesso accompagnate dall'alcol, che fanno da cornice ai tre quarti degli avvenimenti
-tutti vogliono fregare tutti; non ci sono alleanze.
Ma ha anche dei difetti...
Peccato, ma è sempre un piacere leggere Dashiellone. Che per chi non lo conoscesse, è uno dei padri dell'hardboiled.
Per chi non conoscesse l'hardboiled, questo è uno stile che sommariamente appare caratterizzato da alcuni tratti distintivi (presenti ovviamente anche ne Il falco maltese):
-c'è un detective, a volte più mafioso che onesto, estremamente alcolizzato, spesso grasso, e sempre, inspiegabilmente, in grado di accalappiare qualunque femmina dotata di buon senso e non
-c'è una vedova alta e bionda. Occhio che se non la trovate, forse abbiamo sbagliato genere
-c'è una quantità inusuale di cazzotti, pistole, altri arnesi dispensa-morte, ancora pugni e cazzotti
-c'è la femme fatale. Questa si muove al limite della legalità, fa gli occhioni dolci, sguardo super sexy, e riesce a fregare (quasi) tutti
-c'è un numero ampio ma variabile di gente corrotta, che va dalla polizia (sempre inutile) ad altri funzionari (anch'essi inutili)
-ci sono le notti infinite, spesso accompagnate dall'alcol, che fanno da cornice ai tre quarti degli avvenimenti
-tutti vogliono fregare tutti; non ci sono alleanze.
Ma ha anche dei difetti...
I did finish this in time for book club...it is a very fast read. It is so different from other books I've read. It is a classic detective mystery and is written like a Sherlock Holmes story, but a little grittier. Sam Spade is a classic smooth detective who can get his way out of any predicament and is good with the ladies. It was a challenging read, mostly becuase it was just so different than the fiction I usually read. All in all, I enjoyed it.
3.5 thanks to the last 50 pages—but it’s a hella long road to get that far. Instigated some good road trip discussions, though!
I wouldn't have chosen to read this book on my own, but a friend recommended and let me borrow it, so I felt obligated. Plus, it's short enough that it wasn't a terribly intimidating addition to my to-read list. Unfortunately, my usual mystery novel curse continued. I didn't really enjoy this, although I might watch the movie at some point. I feel like the writing style would lend itself better to a visual experience for me.
I won't say that this a bad novel. I appreciated the unpredictability of it, especially in the beginning. I liked the cleverness of the characters and the plot itself. But, for me, those were the only real bright spots, and neither of them made up for the parts that I didn't like. As usual, a mystery is just not enough reason for me to really like a book. I really want to like the characters and connect with them, and I just didn't find that possible in this book. Without that connection, I generally cease to care about the mystery. I think I also disliked the focus of the mystery - there are a couple different parts to the mystery here, and the parts that I cared about ended up kind of taking the backseat to the parts that I didn't much care for.
On the bright side, that's another acclaimed author that I can at least say that I tried. It's always nice to know when something just isn't going to work for you.
I won't say that this a bad novel. I appreciated the unpredictability of it, especially in the beginning. I liked the cleverness of the characters and the plot itself. But, for me, those were the only real bright spots, and neither of them made up for the parts that I didn't like. As usual, a mystery is just not enough reason for me to really like a book. I really want to like the characters and connect with them, and I just didn't find that possible in this book. Without that connection, I generally cease to care about the mystery. I think I also disliked the focus of the mystery - there are a couple different parts to the mystery here, and the parts that I cared about ended up kind of taking the backseat to the parts that I didn't much care for.
On the bright side, that's another acclaimed author that I can at least say that I tried. It's always nice to know when something just isn't going to work for you.
No doubt about it, this novel is a classic, written by a master of the hard-boiled crime story. The Maltese Falcon became a wildly popular movie and a fine model for film noir. Dashiell Hammett wrote in a sparse, direct style, emphasizing action and dialogue. Through these devices, his characters become real. The plot and the characters can be found in movies, books, and television shows of today. Hammett hints at homosexuality in some of the characters and supposedly influenced Lillian Hellman to write The Children’s Hour, a famous play about two women who are suspected of being lesbians.
I once read the following in some TV guide regarding the classic movie adaptation: “The 1941 mystery is the yardstick against which all private-eye films are measured.” It is even more true of the novel. Never before (or since) has a protagonist been forced to look so deeply within himself, to have to explain who he is to so many while not completely understanding why he is that way himself. Sam Spade knows what he has to do, and externally he knows why he has to do it. He acts assuredly, without hesitation. Yet there is a deeper part of himself that is merely along for the ride, as if some of his decisions were never really decisions at all. He has led a life with more than a few amoral choices but when confronted with what should be the easiest of shortcuts, he discovers he has a moral core that cannot be so easily overruled. An array of fascinating characters and an explanation and solution, perhaps the greatest explanation of all time because of the drama interwoven within--and upon rereading they almost become side issues compared how exposed Spade becomes and how he refuses to see it.
THE masterpiece.
THE masterpiece.
The original noir. What can I say? This book is a classic, and I could see why, but I didn't exactly love it. Maybe I just wasn't into it, I don't know. I wasn't surprised by any of the twists and I couldn't figure out what the author was trying to do with the character of Sam Spade - all the "devilish" triangles in his face really threw me for a loop. Regardless, the descriptions are awesome and the story, set in San Francisco, is dark and noir-y. No need to run to the bookstore on this one, but worth a read.