I've wanted to start keeping journal/thoughts/essays about books I read. So what better way than a blog? I recently finished reading "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. I got curious because of all the recent publicity about this "classic." I have never heard of the book and yet it was considered a classic. So I borrowed it from the library to see what all the fuss was about.
Why is this a classic? According to the newspaper review that got me intrigued, this book is still being read even though the Pulitzer prize winner from the same year is all but forgotten. I was determined to find out.
My initial reaction after reading it, is I am not as impressed as I thought I would be. It's a good read and contains essential elements for being a book of bestseller. The plot moves along, the pages turn quickly, and the story is not hard to understand. This is not Faulkner. Maybe I'm just lame and didn't see the symbolism/literary tools that I should have caught, but I didn't.
Did I like the story? Yes. The writing style struck me as something that could have made this book last longer than its own generation. As I said, this is not Faulkner. Hammett's writing is crisp and economical. He also fluidly introduces and describes characters and scenes without tripping himself withverbose description, where you have to re-read because the sentence just keeps running on and on (not like this sentence ;).
In reflection of the simple, crisp writing, the plot in this book is linear, singular, and moves swiftly. The characters, for the most part, are well defined. The main characters, the detective and the femme fatale, do not necessarily grow substantially. They all play their role within their boundaries so that the plot can flow.
The combination of economical, simple plot, writing, and characters appears to be the key to this book's longevity and in classifying it as a classic.
Would I read it over and over again? Probably not. I liked the book; but I would not put it on my list as one of the books I would re-read. From my test of borrow from library or buy from bookstore to keep, I would put this as one I would borrow once from the library.
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2 comments:
Haeji,
I would venture that one of the reasons this novel is still read is due to the film starring Humphrey Bogart. You should check it out and see what you think. The film is also crisp, simple, and swift, as you describe, appropriately filmed without color. Bogart, in his classic detective role, brings the character to life with a little edge and a quick wit, if not a little tongue-in-cheek. The melodrama is not over the top, as in many films of that era, and it takes a back seat to the quick pace and adventure of solving the mystery at hand. I enjoyed the film and would watch it again.
I've heard that the film is great. I think I will have to rent and watch it to see what the movie is like. Humphrey Bogart couldn't go wrong in any movie, and possibly that makes the story more of a classic. =)
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