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The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, Red Harvest
The three classic novels published here in one volume are rich with the crisp prose, subtle characters, and intricate plots that made Dashiell Hammett one of the most admired writers of the twentieth century. A one-time detective and a master of deft understatement, Hammett virtually invented the hard-boiled crime novel. In The Maltese Falcon , Sam Spade, a private eye with his own solitary code of ethics, tangles with a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime. The Thin Man introduces Hammett's wittiest creations, Nick and Nora Charles, who solve homicides in between wisecracks and martinis. And in Red Harvest , Hammett's anonymous tough-guy detective, the Continental Op, takes on the entire town of Poisonville in a deadly war against corruption. "Dashiell Hammett is a master of the detective novel, yes, but also one hell of a writer."— Boston Globe ”Hammett was spare, hard-boiled, but he did over and over what only the best writers can ever do. He wrote scenes that seemed never to have been written before.”—Raymond Chandler ”Hammett’s prose was clean and entirely unique. His characters were as sharply and economically defined as any in American fiction.”— The New York Times ”As a novelist of realistic intrigue, Hammett was unsurpassed in his own or any time.”—Ross Macdonald ”Dashiell Hammett’s dialogues can be compared only with the best in Hemingway.”—André Gide ”Hammett is one of the best contemporary American writers.”—Gertrude Stein
696 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Dashiell Hammett
530 books2,548 followersAlso wrote as Peter Collinson, Daghull Hammett, Samuel Dashiell, Mary Jane Hammett
Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...
Dashiell Hammett, an American, wrote highly acclaimed detective fiction, including The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Thin Man (1934).
Samuel Dashiell Hammett authored hardboiled novels and short stories. He created Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon), Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man), and the Continental Op (Red Harvest and The Dain Curse) among the enduring characters. In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on film, Hammett "is now widely regarded as one of the finest mystery writers of all time" and was called, in his obituary in the New York Times, "the dean of the... 'hard-boiled' school of detective fiction."
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
September 1, 2023
All of the books in this collection are wonderful, and it is a great volume. But the best one, by far, is The Maltese Falcon. How can a book with such an ambiguous ending and such despicable characters become one of the my absolute favorites? This book is great because it is non-linear, muddled and timeless. It is noir that takes place in the Depression era of LA, but it still holds its own and fits snuggly with such great modern books as Saroff's Paper Targets: Art Can Be Murder and Woodrill's Winter's Bone. And San Franciso in the 20's must have been a wild, lawless place. And that confusion seeps into Hammett's expert plotting. No one really understands what is happening, and the crazy characters who have been searching for a mysterious and nearly mythical golden and jeweled statue are not searching for an object as much as they are searching for a place to park their endless angst. All of Hammet's books are worth reading and re-reading, but this one soars above the others.
July 5, 2016
If you have not seen the movie or read the book, The Maltese Falcon is a must. I was never able to watch the film "The Thin Man", but now that I have read the book I am anxious to watch it. A retired detective and his rich wife are vacationing in New York City during the end of the year holidays. Some of their old acquaintances try to draw Nick Charles into a murder investigation he does not really want to be involved in any more than he has to be. This book is also highly recommended. Red Harvest finds the continental-op cutting through corruption to clean up a town.
March 18, 2020
“The Maltese Falcon” is a brilliant “noir” novel and a masterpiece of the genre. Inevitably comparisons with the famous 1941 film come to mind. The latter, of course, is another superb classic. As I read I could hear Humphrey Bogart! He IS Sam Spade and the dialogue between Bogart’s Sam Spade and Sydney Greenstreet’s Gutman is unforgettable easily matching the repartee in the book. Peter Lorre is superb. On the other hand Wilbur is far more menacing in the novel and Mary Astor (IMO) doesn’t quite get the deadly undercurrent of “murderous innocence” in Brigid’s character. The film does do justice to the great dark ending. (Though Hammett adds one more terrific twist at the end.)
Roger Ebert’s comment on the film works equally well for the novel:
“The moment everyone remembers from “The Maltese Falcon” comes near the end, when Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) has been collared for murdering Spade's partner. She says she loves Spade. She asks if Sam loves her. She pleads for him to spare her from the law. And he replies, in a speech some people can quote by heart, ‘I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. . . . The chances are you'll get off with life. That means if you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years. I'll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I'll always remember you.’”
Book or Film? They are both wonderful—read one and watch the other but don’t miss either.
Roger Ebert’s comment on the film works equally well for the novel:
“The moment everyone remembers from “The Maltese Falcon” comes near the end, when Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) has been collared for murdering Spade's partner. She says she loves Spade. She asks if Sam loves her. She pleads for him to spare her from the law. And he replies, in a speech some people can quote by heart, ‘I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. . . . The chances are you'll get off with life. That means if you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years. I'll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I'll always remember you.’”
Book or Film? They are both wonderful—read one and watch the other but don’t miss either.
August 17, 2024
The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett – my note on this is at https://realini.blogspot.com/2014/08/... with hundreds of other reviews
9 out of 10
The Maltese Falcon is a classic, included on a few of the prestigious lists, from The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read, to The Crime Writer’s Association, which has writers from Great Britain, where it sits at number ten, and then The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time, compiled by the Mystery Writers of America…
Where it is at number two, and since I have mentioned three important lists, why not end with The Modern Library, where it is among the Best 100 listed there…this has caused Sam Spade to become one of the best known and appreciated fictional detectives, I was watching him again, last night, as portrayed by Humphrey Bogart
This is such a complex character, and what an important advantage he has, if one is unidimensional, good, munificent, calm say, then he or she or they could be boring and we do not want that, for there are some conditions for Flow https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/... or Being in The Zone
You must be in control, nothing else matters, it is an autotelic experience, with clear goals, constant and instant feedback, time is relative (there is a nice quote from Albert Einstein on the hot stove and the beautiful woman) and then finally, skills match challenges, in other words, you must be on the line between boredom and burnout
Sam Spade is a determined, self-possessed man, only we have to wonder if he would be a role model, if he would not be ‘canceled’ in this day and age – however, let us be clear that this is not a right-wing argument, or if it comes out that way, please let me know somehow, or better still, call a doctor for me, because it means I lost my mind
Perhaps Sam Spade does need some dressing down, if he is not to be eliminated from the pantheon of illustrious personages, we could look to see if and how he stands the test of time, male characters had to be macho, virile, dominant, aggressive, treating women with some sort of disdain quite often, to respect the standards of chauvinists
This paradigm has not changed everywhere, I understand that the Tate brothers have millions of followers – they live in the same city with yours truly, alas – and then worse, one of the worst humans on this planet, Orange Jesus, is the favorite to win the elections on November 4, the one with the infamous (one of the many disgusting statements) ‘they allow me to grab them by the pussy’, and all that revolting arsenal of insults
Sam Spade is cool, when Miss Wonderly (this is the name she gave, only we will find that it is false) comes into his office, he likes her – spoiler alert, there will be some elements form the later parts, though I will not give in all, maybe none of the essentials – but does not show much, though the two will get very close
Indeed, too close, in professional terms, for this would constitute a conflict of interest, if characters would respect the rule of law, which they do not, however much we need to esteem the hero for his integrity, in what has to do with the main issues, yes, he can trespass here and there, but he would not commit some serious crime
On second thought, it may depend on the circumstances, it could also become a problem for utilitarism, they have that exercise, what if a train could take this route and kill say fifteen people, and then on the other line, it will be just a couple, what do you do if you can change course, and the answer is less tragedy
The client claims she has a sister and she had been seduced by this married man, Floyd Thursby, who is married with three kids, but when Miles Archer, Spade’s partner, is on the tail of the man, he is shot dead, and then we see that this much more complex, and it rapidly grows in size and intensity, as Sam is called to the crime scene
The dark side of the hero – is he an anti-hero, will he be used in the future as an example for future students ‘you must not be like that’, it could be – is quickly revealed, for he shows very little, if any sympathy, compassion for his dead partner – there is a difference between pity and compassion, and it is explained here…
In The Unbearable Lightness of Being https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/11/... Milan Kundera writes that we feel compassion for somebody that we place at the same level, and then pity for a human that is somehow perceived to be at a lower level, at least this is how I remember it…
Granted, it is also a question of showing one’s feelings, or being the type that will not cry over a corpse, be that the body of a partner, Sam Spade has seen after all a lot of dead people, in his line of work, but then we get to another aspect, he had had an affair with the Archer’s wife, now a widow, and it gets even worse
Effie Perine is the secretary, but I have a feeling that she is more than that – it looks like these folks were into polyamory, long before it became a thing, it seems that large numbers are exploring this new concept now, alas, it may be late for me, though, who knows, I am open anyway – and she is told to keep the widow away…
Ergo, Sam Spade has been dishonest to his partner, had coitus with his spouse, but not because there was something intense, a ‘big love’, justifying in some measure the affair, it was just some fling, so is this hero cynical, unscrupulous?
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
9 out of 10
The Maltese Falcon is a classic, included on a few of the prestigious lists, from The 1,000 Novels Everyone Must Read, to The Crime Writer’s Association, which has writers from Great Britain, where it sits at number ten, and then The Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time, compiled by the Mystery Writers of America…
Where it is at number two, and since I have mentioned three important lists, why not end with The Modern Library, where it is among the Best 100 listed there…this has caused Sam Spade to become one of the best known and appreciated fictional detectives, I was watching him again, last night, as portrayed by Humphrey Bogart
This is such a complex character, and what an important advantage he has, if one is unidimensional, good, munificent, calm say, then he or she or they could be boring and we do not want that, for there are some conditions for Flow https://realini.blogspot.com/2016/10/... or Being in The Zone
You must be in control, nothing else matters, it is an autotelic experience, with clear goals, constant and instant feedback, time is relative (there is a nice quote from Albert Einstein on the hot stove and the beautiful woman) and then finally, skills match challenges, in other words, you must be on the line between boredom and burnout
Sam Spade is a determined, self-possessed man, only we have to wonder if he would be a role model, if he would not be ‘canceled’ in this day and age – however, let us be clear that this is not a right-wing argument, or if it comes out that way, please let me know somehow, or better still, call a doctor for me, because it means I lost my mind
Perhaps Sam Spade does need some dressing down, if he is not to be eliminated from the pantheon of illustrious personages, we could look to see if and how he stands the test of time, male characters had to be macho, virile, dominant, aggressive, treating women with some sort of disdain quite often, to respect the standards of chauvinists
This paradigm has not changed everywhere, I understand that the Tate brothers have millions of followers – they live in the same city with yours truly, alas – and then worse, one of the worst humans on this planet, Orange Jesus, is the favorite to win the elections on November 4, the one with the infamous (one of the many disgusting statements) ‘they allow me to grab them by the pussy’, and all that revolting arsenal of insults
Sam Spade is cool, when Miss Wonderly (this is the name she gave, only we will find that it is false) comes into his office, he likes her – spoiler alert, there will be some elements form the later parts, though I will not give in all, maybe none of the essentials – but does not show much, though the two will get very close
Indeed, too close, in professional terms, for this would constitute a conflict of interest, if characters would respect the rule of law, which they do not, however much we need to esteem the hero for his integrity, in what has to do with the main issues, yes, he can trespass here and there, but he would not commit some serious crime
On second thought, it may depend on the circumstances, it could also become a problem for utilitarism, they have that exercise, what if a train could take this route and kill say fifteen people, and then on the other line, it will be just a couple, what do you do if you can change course, and the answer is less tragedy
The client claims she has a sister and she had been seduced by this married man, Floyd Thursby, who is married with three kids, but when Miles Archer, Spade’s partner, is on the tail of the man, he is shot dead, and then we see that this much more complex, and it rapidly grows in size and intensity, as Sam is called to the crime scene
The dark side of the hero – is he an anti-hero, will he be used in the future as an example for future students ‘you must not be like that’, it could be – is quickly revealed, for he shows very little, if any sympathy, compassion for his dead partner – there is a difference between pity and compassion, and it is explained here…
In The Unbearable Lightness of Being https://realini.blogspot.com/2017/11/... Milan Kundera writes that we feel compassion for somebody that we place at the same level, and then pity for a human that is somehow perceived to be at a lower level, at least this is how I remember it…
Granted, it is also a question of showing one’s feelings, or being the type that will not cry over a corpse, be that the body of a partner, Sam Spade has seen after all a lot of dead people, in his line of work, but then we get to another aspect, he had had an affair with the Archer’s wife, now a widow, and it gets even worse
Effie Perine is the secretary, but I have a feeling that she is more than that – it looks like these folks were into polyamory, long before it became a thing, it seems that large numbers are exploring this new concept now, alas, it may be late for me, though, who knows, I am open anyway – and she is told to keep the widow away…
Ergo, Sam Spade has been dishonest to his partner, had coitus with his spouse, but not because there was something intense, a ‘big love’, justifying in some measure the affair, it was just some fling, so is this hero cynical, unscrupulous?
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
May 14, 2021
Red Harvest is a rock ‘em, sock ‘em, shoot ‘em up tale—a sort of a gangster story, detective story, and western all rolled into one. Probably seeming so, because this novel is said to be the inspiration for Akira Kurosawa's film Yojimbo (which translates as “bodyguard”) and Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars.
The plots of these books are as tangled as a Celtic knot, but if you stay alert, you can follow the logic of the unnamed Continental Op (read Pinkerton Detective) in Red Harvest and Sam Spade in Maltese Falcon to see how they deduced their conclusions about who did what and to whom.
Hammett is a master of the character quick sketch—no doubt from his experience as a working detective—and it’s a blessing, because there are so many characters in Red Harvest that you need vivid descriptions to keep them all straight.
Hammett’s dialogue in these two is not as snappy and snarky as Raymond Chandler’s, but still tough and direct. (The Thin Man is another matter.)
I don’t believe I needed almost a page describing how Spade rolled a Bull Durham cigarette, but maybe that’s because my dad used to smoke that brand and I’ve seen it done so often.
Now I’m in the midst of a bio of Hammett by Diane Johnson. I was surprised to learn of Hammett’s connection to the Pacific Northwest:
“By October [1918] [Dashiell Hammett, in the army then] had caught the flu that rampaged through the troops and around the world, and of which millions died….Perhaps he had not known until now that he had contracted his mother’s TB, the common affliction of city people brought up in crowded houses.” …. “So when he felt a little better, he got on the train again for Pinkerton and went West again, this time to Spokane, Washington, [earlier it had been Butte, Montana] and from that office was once more sent into the mining country. In the summer mountain air he felt almost well and gained weight, but in the autumn he became ill again, thinner than ever, weaker, sicker. He went to the Public Health Service hospital in Tacoma, where he was declared completely disabled, his health ruined beyond repair.” …. In 1921 he was in “a converted Indian school on Puyallup Road in the fringes of Tacoma, Washington.” …. “…as I remember it we came into and went out of the hospital as we liked, needing a pass only for overnight trips to Seattle and such…” …. “He kept himself going, went into Tacoma or down to Seattle, drank and gambled.”
I looked up The Maltese Falcon at @moviemadness_pdx, Portland’s iconic independent video store, and rented 3 film versions of the story: 1931, 1936, and 1946 (Bogart). I rather liked the earliest version best.
Quotes:
I first heard Personville called Poisonville by a red-haired mucker named Hickey Dewey in the Big Ship in Butte. He also called his shirt a shoit…”
I looked past the beefy man and saw Thaler’s profile. It was young, dark and small, with pretty features as regular as if they had been cut by a die.
“He’s cute,” I said.
“Uh-huh,” the gray man agreed. “ and so’s dynamite.”
The plots of these books are as tangled as a Celtic knot, but if you stay alert, you can follow the logic of the unnamed Continental Op (read Pinkerton Detective) in Red Harvest and Sam Spade in Maltese Falcon to see how they deduced their conclusions about who did what and to whom.
Hammett is a master of the character quick sketch—no doubt from his experience as a working detective—and it’s a blessing, because there are so many characters in Red Harvest that you need vivid descriptions to keep them all straight.
Hammett’s dialogue in these two is not as snappy and snarky as Raymond Chandler’s, but still tough and direct. (The Thin Man is another matter.)
I don’t believe I needed almost a page describing how Spade rolled a Bull Durham cigarette, but maybe that’s because my dad used to smoke that brand and I’ve seen it done so often.
Now I’m in the midst of a bio of Hammett by Diane Johnson. I was surprised to learn of Hammett’s connection to the Pacific Northwest:
“By October [1918] [Dashiell Hammett, in the army then] had caught the flu that rampaged through the troops and around the world, and of which millions died….Perhaps he had not known until now that he had contracted his mother’s TB, the common affliction of city people brought up in crowded houses.” …. “So when he felt a little better, he got on the train again for Pinkerton and went West again, this time to Spokane, Washington, [earlier it had been Butte, Montana] and from that office was once more sent into the mining country. In the summer mountain air he felt almost well and gained weight, but in the autumn he became ill again, thinner than ever, weaker, sicker. He went to the Public Health Service hospital in Tacoma, where he was declared completely disabled, his health ruined beyond repair.” …. In 1921 he was in “a converted Indian school on Puyallup Road in the fringes of Tacoma, Washington.” …. “…as I remember it we came into and went out of the hospital as we liked, needing a pass only for overnight trips to Seattle and such…” …. “He kept himself going, went into Tacoma or down to Seattle, drank and gambled.”
I looked up The Maltese Falcon at @moviemadness_pdx, Portland’s iconic independent video store, and rented 3 film versions of the story: 1931, 1936, and 1946 (Bogart). I rather liked the earliest version best.
Quotes:
I first heard Personville called Poisonville by a red-haired mucker named Hickey Dewey in the Big Ship in Butte. He also called his shirt a shoit…”
I looked past the beefy man and saw Thaler’s profile. It was young, dark and small, with pretty features as regular as if they had been cut by a die.
“He’s cute,” I said.
“Uh-huh,” the gray man agreed. “ and so’s dynamite.”
April 22, 2019
Overview
These books are very thematically similar. So much so, that they blend into one another, into one homogeneous blob. The main characters, all hard-boiled male private detectives and alcoholics, are also hard to tell apart. I found it interesting to read for the first time but tiring to keep on reading because of the fact that it was all more of the same... I do look forward to watching the movie adaptations.
Here are some quotes that I liked:
Maltese Falcon
-"Jiggly globes, pink and bulbous" p. 135
I love the description of G's fatness l0l
-"Set down and bite an egg." p. 138
what a rough way to describe breakfast
Red Harvest
-"The chief winked at me, an athletic wink in which all his facial muscles took part" p. 460
never would have thought to describe a wink as athletic
-"moved some of the Scotch from my flask to my stomach" p. 490
I just find it fascinating the variety of ways to describe something so simple like to drink.
-"and if he didn't like what she did he could go climb trees or jump in lakes" p. 564
when you're trying not to curse and tell someone to fuck off... here's what you could use instead.
-"If I don't get away soon I'll be going blood-simple like the natives." p. 584
TIL: The Coen brothers read this same line and named their first feature film Blood Simple after it.
These books are very thematically similar. So much so, that they blend into one another, into one homogeneous blob. The main characters, all hard-boiled male private detectives and alcoholics, are also hard to tell apart. I found it interesting to read for the first time but tiring to keep on reading because of the fact that it was all more of the same... I do look forward to watching the movie adaptations.
Here are some quotes that I liked:
Maltese Falcon
-"Jiggly globes, pink and bulbous" p. 135
I love the description of G's fatness l0l
-"Set down and bite an egg." p. 138
what a rough way to describe breakfast
Red Harvest
-"The chief winked at me, an athletic wink in which all his facial muscles took part" p. 460
never would have thought to describe a wink as athletic
-"moved some of the Scotch from my flask to my stomach" p. 490
I just find it fascinating the variety of ways to describe something so simple like to drink.
-"and if he didn't like what she did he could go climb trees or jump in lakes" p. 564
when you're trying not to curse and tell someone to fuck off... here's what you could use instead.
-"If I don't get away soon I'll be going blood-simple like the natives." p. 584
TIL: The Coen brothers read this same line and named their first feature film Blood Simple after it.
August 26, 2016
All three novels spawned multiple film versions,with at least one classic film adapted from each novel. It is not surprising why. These are great stories with brilliant dialogue and unforgettable characters. What is surprising, however, is how dark and twisted the source material is. These are prohibition era stories about people who like to drink and stay up all night. The people they come in contact with are never considered the cream of society. Liquor and drugs and sex and blackmail and murder are familiar subjects to those who do not conform, those on the fringe.
If you think you know these stories, think again. The movies are close, but highly sanitized. These three short novels that are as much seminal examples of American literature as any highbrow work and should be treated with equal reverence. Read them. Read them again for the subtext.
If you think you know these stories, think again. The movies are close, but highly sanitized. These three short novels that are as much seminal examples of American literature as any highbrow work and should be treated with equal reverence. Read them. Read them again for the subtext.
October 22, 2017
The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man, Red Harvest - Dashiell Hammett 8 August, 1997
As Kat says, a tasty mystery novel, indeed, with vivid characters. Nick and Nora are the coolest couple ever. Two, smart, charming people who just happen to be ridiculously wealthy and having a fabulous life in Manhattan, with their dog. Solving the mystery is beside the point. Drinking and being witty is the point.
***
So I looked up "badger game" because I had to find out what was in the woman's past. "Ah", I thought, reading the Wikipedia explanation, "like Hamilton got caught in" and indeed, Hamilton is the case study. Most of us will never be tempted by pros, so there's no way of knowing, but I wonder how many marks fail to fall.
As Kat says, a tasty mystery novel, indeed, with vivid characters. Nick and Nora are the coolest couple ever. Two, smart, charming people who just happen to be ridiculously wealthy and having a fabulous life in Manhattan, with their dog. Solving the mystery is beside the point. Drinking and being witty is the point.
***
So I looked up "badger game" because I had to find out what was in the woman's past. "Ah", I thought, reading the Wikipedia explanation, "like Hamilton got caught in" and indeed, Hamilton is the case study. Most of us will never be tempted by pros, so there's no way of knowing, but I wonder how many marks fail to fall.
March 29, 2022
Enjoyed The Maltese Falcon + The Thin Man, but I've discovered gangster novels are just not my genre. I struggled to care about any of the characters in Red Harvest. It felt a bit like Games of Thrones with virtually everyone dying, + yet I was unmoved.
September 1, 2015
This kind of writing altogether does not appeal to me, though I particularly enjoyed going with my friend to see The Maltese Falcon at a cinema semi-recently.
I slogged through the first fifty-four pages, but then I thought: what am I even doing if I'm antagonistic to the whole idea of opening it?
I had thought maybe Hammett's writing could be better, but to me this seems about the same.
A lot of people really enjoy this, so maybe I'd better spend my time on praising a story I like. But I wanted to acknowledge I have been trying to get through this book, but psychologically I'm not 100% for sallying forth against the windmills of a story I've already seen and just found OK.
So I hope if you pick up this detective tale, it intrigues you! I decided it's just like the film which I was ambivalent about so my time is best spent elsewhere.
I slogged through the first fifty-four pages, but then I thought: what am I even doing if I'm antagonistic to the whole idea of opening it?
I had thought maybe Hammett's writing could be better, but to me this seems about the same.
A lot of people really enjoy this, so maybe I'd better spend my time on praising a story I like. But I wanted to acknowledge I have been trying to get through this book, but psychologically I'm not 100% for sallying forth against the windmills of a story I've already seen and just found OK.
So I hope if you pick up this detective tale, it intrigues you! I decided it's just like the film which I was ambivalent about so my time is best spent elsewhere.
July 12, 2015
Read all three straight through. Was happy to see that the screenwriters lifted the best dialog w/ mucking up from both Maltese Falcon and Thin Man. What the screenplays peeled off could easily have been trimmed from the books. Red Harvest was a cold read for me - interesting but I didn't find a single character worth investing in so enjoyed the action, the language, and didn't care who got shot.
March 1, 2015
Dullest book I have ever read. Who cares what color Sam Spade's pajamas are. That has nothing to do with the story. The movie was Much better.
January 4, 2022
For pure style, Hammett delivers in Red Harvest. The Continental Op, one of Hammett's most famous private investigator characters, is contracted by a newspaper editor to come to the crime-controlled town of Personville ("Poisonville" in the popular parlance), only to find the editor murdered and himself enlisted to break up the gangland junta that has been running the town for years.
Red Harvest has great characters, many of which have become prototypes in American literature, including the brutal and flippant private eye, the cunning lady holding the gun or the gin, the taciturn gangster, and the crooked cop. The narration and description are everything you could ever want from a hardboiled detective novel.
Where Red Harvest falters is in a lot of the same places subsequent genre stories would: the double- and triple-crosses become hard to keep track of over time, and the action scenes all sort of blend together with similar barely-sketched out gangsters and lawmen dropping like flies. There are A LOT of scenes of people drinking in hotel rooms and homes, to the point where I began to think I had accidentally lost my place in the book and backtracked (not to mention, there's so much drinking and driving in this book as to seem comical today). Definitely recommend but I'd by lying if I said I didn't skim a few pages.
Red Harvest has great characters, many of which have become prototypes in American literature, including the brutal and flippant private eye, the cunning lady holding the gun or the gin, the taciturn gangster, and the crooked cop. The narration and description are everything you could ever want from a hardboiled detective novel.
Where Red Harvest falters is in a lot of the same places subsequent genre stories would: the double- and triple-crosses become hard to keep track of over time, and the action scenes all sort of blend together with similar barely-sketched out gangsters and lawmen dropping like flies. There are A LOT of scenes of people drinking in hotel rooms and homes, to the point where I began to think I had accidentally lost my place in the book and backtracked (not to mention, there's so much drinking and driving in this book as to seem comical today). Definitely recommend but I'd by lying if I said I didn't skim a few pages.
September 24, 2017
Contains three novels:
- The Maltese Falcon - A detective story about a statue of falcon, which has been given to a king of Spain by the knights of Malta for letting them settle there. The statue has been made of gold and precious stones and had been covered in black substance to hide its contents. The statue has been sought by a group of unscrupulous people and resulted in three murders. A detective Samuel Spade gets involved and unravels the mystery.
- The Thin Man - A good old-fashioned crime story with many twists and turns, accompanied by a number of false scents between.
- Red Harvest - In my opinion this is the best of the three stories in the Hammett’s volume. Full of action which could make it a good candidate for a movie.
- The Maltese Falcon - A detective story about a statue of falcon, which has been given to a king of Spain by the knights of Malta for letting them settle there. The statue has been made of gold and precious stones and had been covered in black substance to hide its contents. The statue has been sought by a group of unscrupulous people and resulted in three murders. A detective Samuel Spade gets involved and unravels the mystery.
- The Thin Man - A good old-fashioned crime story with many twists and turns, accompanied by a number of false scents between.
- Red Harvest - In my opinion this is the best of the three stories in the Hammett’s volume. Full of action which could make it a good candidate for a movie.
November 27, 2021
My husband and I went to John's Grill on Ellis Street since we live in San Francisco. We did not order lamb chops as Sam Spade did but we did see the Maltese Falcon sculpture in a case on the second floor. Dashiell Hammett writes about locations and characters with great attention to detail. The physical description of each person and their facial expressions and bodily movements are amazing to read. Spade rolled his own cigarettes many times and I am not sure why we needed to hear about it so often. The plot develops slowly and comes to a climax with a gathering of the main characters in Spade's apartment. We saw the movie decades ago and look forward to seeing again.
June 3, 2024
I have read a few detective/murder mystery novels, but these stories reminded me of old Noir films and the black/white film in Home Alone - with the gangsters and people getting knocked off. I really enjoyed the books, and it was kind of fun to see "Salt Lake" pop up here and there since that is where I'm from. All the short stories had different flavors, so I can't really say which one was the 'best' overall. I did like the treasure aspect of Maltese Falcon, and the twist about the Thin Man. Red Harvest was all about corruptions, and was creative with all the characters. So definitely for those looking for action, guns, and murders.
February 6, 2022
Hard-boiled sleuth stories at it's best!
I had bought the hardcover edition which in them had 3 novels namely:
1.Maltese falcon-completely engrossing.
2.Thin man-at first story seems to drag on a bit but ending was out of the blue.
3.Red harvest-hard-boiled characters.Gripping read!
I first came to know these novels through "101 Crime novels of all time" by Mystery writers of America.
I had bought the hardcover edition which in them had 3 novels namely:
1.Maltese falcon-completely engrossing.
2.Thin man-at first story seems to drag on a bit but ending was out of the blue.
3.Red harvest-hard-boiled characters.Gripping read!
I first came to know these novels through "101 Crime novels of all time" by Mystery writers of America.
Read
June 21, 2024The Maltese Falcon: 3/5 stars. Kinda slow/boring and confusing tbh; I think I'd like the movie better if I saw it.
The Thin Man: 4/5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised by the humor in this one - I actually laughed out loud once or twice while reading.
Red Harvest: 3/5 stars for the same reasons as the Maltese Falcon.
The Thin Man: 4/5 stars. I was pleasantly surprised by the humor in this one - I actually laughed out loud once or twice while reading.
Red Harvest: 3/5 stars for the same reasons as the Maltese Falcon.
September 10, 2020
I liked these because they talked of timeless moral flaws still apparent in people today and show the seedy side of L.A. in the 1930's. A few racist parts, but this was written by a white guy in the 1930's.
January 3, 2020
Three classics. Better than the movies. Wondering why red harvest wasn’t made into a movie, but now want to see Blood Simple.
Red Harvest is a fitting title.
Red Harvest is a fitting title.
May 4, 2020
Nothing like a few good detective stories by the master!
February 11, 2022
Entertaining and clever, characters really come to life.
October 16, 2022
Not shown; another half-star.
Want to read
June 21, 2023These book are definitely addictive.
Read
November 4, 2023Seedy, sordid, and not in a juicy way. Just sad. DNF for me
March 10, 2024
The Maltese Falcon is an amazing classic. The other two books in this collection were hard to follow with characters I either didn't remember or didn't care about.
August 17, 2024
If you ever saw a classic portrayal of a PI (private investigator) in a dark office with a sexy ‘bad’ client and a good looking secretary who sends her in, it was a copy of this author’s work. It was like reading the original after you had already seen a million other copies.
March 18, 2017
awesome book
February 13, 2019
Red Harvest (1929)
This is a blood bath in the shape of a detective story. The pace never lets up. It is typical of the genre and certainly holds your attention. But I wouldn’t classify it as a “great” book.
The Maltese Falcon (1930)
The quintessential detective yarn is easily fleshed-out by the movie but there is more to the story than the movie ever let on due to restrains of the media.
This is a blood bath in the shape of a detective story. The pace never lets up. It is typical of the genre and certainly holds your attention. But I wouldn’t classify it as a “great” book.
The Maltese Falcon (1930)
The quintessential detective yarn is easily fleshed-out by the movie but there is more to the story than the movie ever let on due to restrains of the media.
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