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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
Hard-boiled eggs? My thing. Hard-boiled detective fiction? Not my thing.
The classic Dashiell Hammett novel The Maltese Falcon is given a very nice audio production by The Theater Of The Ear, and stars the voices of Sandra Oh, Michael Madsen and Edward Herrmann.
This classic noir story tells the complicated tale of the Maltese Falcon, a fabled golden statue encrusted with jewels. Unsavory characters want it and Sam Spade gets involved. The solution he comes up with is wildly complicated but the truth hurts in the end.
Lots of great lines in this book and all are delivered with panache by the cast. There are a few audio effects and some period music, just to add to the excitement. Madsen made an excellent Spade, even if sometimes his enunciation made it hard to hear on the road. Most notable was Herrmann's Gutman, played by Sydney Greenstreet in the movie. Not sure if he was channeling Mr. Greenstreet, or if the dialog just makes it come out that way, but he was brilliant.
I enjoyed the story and the finale, even if I had seen it and even read it before. Always a winner, I highly recommend this version of the story.
This classic noir story tells the complicated tale of the Maltese Falcon, a fabled golden statue encrusted with jewels. Unsavory characters want it and Sam Spade gets involved. The solution he comes up with is wildly complicated but the truth hurts in the end.
Lots of great lines in this book and all are delivered with panache by the cast. There are a few audio effects and some period music, just to add to the excitement. Madsen made an excellent Spade, even if sometimes his enunciation made it hard to hear on the road. Most notable was Herrmann's Gutman, played by Sydney Greenstreet in the movie. Not sure if he was channeling Mr. Greenstreet, or if the dialog just makes it come out that way, but he was brilliant.
I enjoyed the story and the finale, even if I had seen it and even read it before. Always a winner, I highly recommend this version of the story.
I thought this was okay. Slow in the beginning, but it picked up pace later on. I liked how there were no clear distinctions between good and bad characters. In fact, there may not be any 'good' characters at all – which is what makes this book so interesting. You grow to genuinely like Sam Spade, even his intentions aren't very clear. At the very least, you trust that he's always got a trick up his sleeve. I never felt very invested in the whole 'mystery' but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the supposed 'resolution.' Worth a read.
Also, Hammett puts a LOT of detail into facial expressions. People (mostly Sam) turning their mouths, their noses, their foreheads into V's. The amount of times he describes people's gazes sometimes seems absurd. But I guess the hardboiled crime genre lends itself to over-dramatization.
Also, Hammett puts a LOT of detail into facial expressions. People (mostly Sam) turning their mouths, their noses, their foreheads into V's. The amount of times he describes people's gazes sometimes seems absurd. But I guess the hardboiled crime genre lends itself to over-dramatization.
Classic noir in just about every way but one too many deus ex machina's for my taste.
I absolutely love books that are crime mysteries set in this time period so my review may be a little biased. The way Hammett was able to create a chaotic story read so simply is beyond genius. The characters were realistic yet cartoony, I could see the eyes of every character as they played their part in the game, and no matter what was going on we could always count on Sam to roll a cigarette which made him so charming to me for a reason I cannot begin to explain. Also the ending was so refreshing because it was not the typical plot twist of “it is the real falcon! Now let’s run away together my love!” If that would have happened, I would have thrown the book across the airplane I was on when I finished it. It was instead “ok well that was a bust. Time to walk away and oh by the way, I may love you, but I love me more, so off to jail you go” which makes so much more sense with the overall feel of the situation and the characters. Overall, I’d love more Sam Spade and look forward to giving other Hammett novels a read.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It was dees.
Sam Spade, fun character. Not as smart talking, fun dialogue as other noirs, but loved reading about SF in that era.
Sam Spade, fun character. Not as smart talking, fun dialogue as other noirs, but loved reading about SF in that era.