Bruce Beckham's Blog - Posts Tagged "dashiell-hammett"
The Maltese Falcon
As a lover of crime fiction I can’t believe it has taken me so long to get around to Dashiell Hammett (thanks for the recommendation, Darlene).
So I have just enjoyed The Maltese Falcon in what, by my standards, is double-quick time. This was bad news for the dog, as it has been my outdoor reading, and the ball-throwing frequency fell dramatically.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the novel was set in 1920s San Francisco, and not Malta – a misapprehension under which I have laboured for most of my life. However, Hammett is not one for describing the scene – reading feels more like watching a play in which the actors hold centre stage.
He reserves his descriptive skills for the characters: their appearance and their reactions. It is a method he applies with unusual but effective depth and precision. His economy of language is startling at times.
I suppose the plot is not especially challenging; nonetheless it has all the requisites of a page-turner. Nearing the end, for a while I thought I was going to be disappointed – but then comes a sharp sting in the tail that leaves you feeling just slightly shocked.
And now I can happily watch the movie.
So I have just enjoyed The Maltese Falcon in what, by my standards, is double-quick time. This was bad news for the dog, as it has been my outdoor reading, and the ball-throwing frequency fell dramatically.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the novel was set in 1920s San Francisco, and not Malta – a misapprehension under which I have laboured for most of my life. However, Hammett is not one for describing the scene – reading feels more like watching a play in which the actors hold centre stage.
He reserves his descriptive skills for the characters: their appearance and their reactions. It is a method he applies with unusual but effective depth and precision. His economy of language is startling at times.
I suppose the plot is not especially challenging; nonetheless it has all the requisites of a page-turner. Nearing the end, for a while I thought I was going to be disappointed – but then comes a sharp sting in the tail that leaves you feeling just slightly shocked.
And now I can happily watch the movie.
