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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I dig tech-noir fiction, but it turns out that doesn't necessarily mean I dig true noir fiction. I wanted to like The Maltese Falcon, and there were a few moments that stood out for me, but on the whole it all seemed incredibly average. With such prescriptive description there wasn't room for my imagination to sink its teeth. I also felt like I was only observing the superficial, so I could never tell - for instance - whether Sam was stringing a girl along, or whether he was supposed to be actually feeling for her, or what. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.
dark
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia
Eh, not very satisfying. For Dashiell Hammett novels, The Thin Man has more character and sparkle; for the hard-boiled detective archetype, Raymond Chandler has more voice and presence.
As a technical matter, this book is written like a movie script; it is strict reporting from a perspective in the room with Sam Spade but not in his (or anyone’s) head. There is meticulous (and often repetitive) physical description of people’s movements and facial expressions, and their dialogue is recorded, but there is no insight into the machinations within their minds. For me, this detached, cinematic style is off-putting. I’d rather learn a little about how the hero’s mind works. I get that it’s a style, and I get that the action is the point and all that—I just don’t find it terribly engaging to read.
But you get what it says on the tin. Sometimes the vaguely xenophobic, antisemitic, homophobic and above all misogynist tropes are interesting in a sort of intellectual way. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood but this time around I found it all overwhelmingly stomach-churning and nothing else. It’s one thing to have a character at whom women fling themselves with abandon if there’s a sliver of charm about him to explain it, but when he’s mostly gross and abusive, where’s the pleasure in that? And a femme fatale can be exciting if there’s some sense of agency and purpose about her, but the one in this book, Bridget O’Shaughnessy, is actually too stupid to live, and so just as unappealing as Sam. There isn’t even a villain worth rooting for, or one who seems a worthy match.
If it’s going to be a foregone conclusion that the good guy (by fiat, because there isn’t much that’s actually good about him, except that he does turn the criminals over to the police at the end) is going to get the better of the baddies, you’ve got to make the journey interesting, or what’s the point? This book ain’t it.
As a technical matter, this book is written like a movie script; it is strict reporting from a perspective in the room with Sam Spade but not in his (or anyone’s) head. There is meticulous (and often repetitive) physical description of people’s movements and facial expressions, and their dialogue is recorded, but there is no insight into the machinations within their minds. For me, this detached, cinematic style is off-putting. I’d rather learn a little about how the hero’s mind works. I get that it’s a style, and I get that the action is the point and all that—I just don’t find it terribly engaging to read.
But you get what it says on the tin. Sometimes the vaguely xenophobic, antisemitic, homophobic and above all misogynist tropes are interesting in a sort of intellectual way. Maybe I was just in the wrong mood but this time around I found it all overwhelmingly stomach-churning and nothing else. It’s one thing to have a character at whom women fling themselves with abandon if there’s a sliver of charm about him to explain it, but when he’s mostly gross and abusive, where’s the pleasure in that? And a femme fatale can be exciting if there’s some sense of agency and purpose about her, but the one in this book, Bridget O’Shaughnessy, is actually too stupid to live, and so just as unappealing as Sam. There isn’t even a villain worth rooting for, or one who seems a worthy match.
If it’s going to be a foregone conclusion that the good guy (by fiat, because there isn’t much that’s actually good about him, except that he does turn the criminals over to the police at the end) is going to get the better of the baddies, you’ve got to make the journey interesting, or what’s the point? This book ain’t it.
adventurous
dark
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
The movie is better, a lot better
Feel around the same about the book as I do about the film considering one is a near 1:1 adaptation of the other, which means the version with Humphrey Bogart is going to get the nod. Both iterations depend on their fast wit to entertain, since the plot is so convoluted as to be nonsensical. If nothing else, reading this after watching the movie and the recent sequel series with Clive Owen stepping into Bogart’s (gum)shoes only gave me a better appreciation for “Monsieur Spade,” both for how accurately Scott Frank captured Hammett’s voice and for how much more entertaining a convoluted Sam Spade story is when it’s set in the south of France.
mysterious
slow-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
When Miss Wonderley commissions Detective Sam Spade to track down her sister, everything appeared to be business as usual. But when Sam's partner is murdered and Miss Wonderley turns out to be someone else completely, Sam finds himself sucked into a time sensitive mystery revolving around a highly valuable treasure.
This was my first experience with Hammett's writing but it certainly won't be my last. I enjoyed this classic, hard boiled detective story and adored the old Hollywood vibes that I got from it.
This is a fun and quick read that I highly recommend.
This was my first experience with Hammett's writing but it certainly won't be my last. I enjoyed this classic, hard boiled detective story and adored the old Hollywood vibes that I got from it.
This is a fun and quick read that I highly recommend.