|
Our feature presentation is based
on the work, which was later made into a cult movie
of the same name, featuring Humphrey Bogart and has
been made into a play. The Maltese Falcon was written from experience - Dashiell Hammett spent several years as a Pinkerton detective. He was a superlative mystery writer. With this book, he ushered in a whole new genre of classical crime fiction. Colored with keen observations of the corruption and violence permeating American life, Hammett's economical, suspenseful, hardboiled style is still a model for today's typical detective novel. Andre' Gide summarizes The Maltese Falcon's
plot as one "in which every character is trying to
deceive all the others and in which the truth slowly
becomes visible through the haze of deception."
Filled with slang, violence, sex, and misogyny, the
novel is also touched with incredible pathos and
with stark glimpses into the street's sleazier - and
lonelier - side. |