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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
My issues with this audiobook were primarily technical. Each track was about 10-20 minutes. I was listening in an old vehicle and the CD started over every time I stopped the vehicle:( This made for a rather unpleasant listening experience.
When Sam Spade appears on the first pages of Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, he’s depicted as not a very nice character. Hammett makes a reference to Satan, which carries through the book. Strange, that one of the most iconic and celebrated characters in private eye literature (or even throughout all of crime literature) starts as someone compared to the most evil force imaginable. After we get past that little jarring start, the book rips ahead as a fast-paced, strong example of what crime writing should be. It is a well-written, entertaining book that holds the audience’s attention from start to finish (with only a little lag in the middle…not really a lag, but more of a slowdown from the fanatic pace). Hammett’s Spade is a brutal, harsh man who does not mince words. When he encounters Miss Wonderly (who turns out to be Brigid O'Shaughnessy) at the beginning of the novel, even though he is trying to be on his best behavior, there is a brashness about the way he treats her. Maybe he knows she is up to know good…which, of course, she is. She turns out to be the femme fatale of the story and a woman who rattles Spade more than he would care to admit. In addition to O'Shaughnessy, Spade gets caught up with a series of lowlifes and other progressively shady characters as he investigates his partner’s murder. Would this book get published today…? Well, maybe by a small, artsy press that specializes in producing quality literary books more than in making money. Why? Well, The Maltese Falcon is not super violent. There is very little harsh language. There is even less sex. It is like a high-class version of what we consider crime fiction today. Does that make it bad? Of course not…on the contrary…it should make you want to read it all the more.
I've heard this is a classic mystery, and I like mysteries. However, this one was just okay to me. I sometimes had a hard time making myself read it. I thought the main character, Spade, was a just a little over the top!
This book is hard not to admire simply because it gives itself over so completely to its genre. If this book had a personal motto, it would be: Be the best of what you were born to be. If you were "born" to be a classic American detective novel published in the 1930's, then you better have a male detective (dripping with virility and potential violence when justified by the moral upper hand) star in all of your many smoky, contemplative, dark office scenes. All such scenes must be regularly interrupted by a voluptuous, weeping damsel in distress, some of whom turn out to be conniving liars and all of whom can't help but fall in love with the starring, butt-grabbing detective. On all of these accounts, The Maltese Falcon delivers.
I also have to add that this book is masterful at building suspense. There was more than once that I felt a little heart racing panic as to what might happen next.
If I was more of a fan of detective novels, and not so put off by the rampant chauvinism, I am sure I would have given it more stars.
I should also probably add that I have not seen the movie, although I want to given all the accolades.
I also have to add that this book is masterful at building suspense. There was more than once that I felt a little heart racing panic as to what might happen next.
If I was more of a fan of detective novels, and not so put off by the rampant chauvinism, I am sure I would have given it more stars.
I should also probably add that I have not seen the movie, although I want to given all the accolades.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really love me some hard-boiled crime fiction. Having seen the movie, I knew what to expect in terms of the mystery, and Hammett's detailed writing makes reading the book almost like watching a movie, making the two inseparable. The man can describe a woman walking across a room and make it the most interesting thing you've ever heard. A classic.
adventurous
mysterious
A really fun, engaging read. Well written, compelling characters. Couldn't put it down.
adventurous