The Dain Curse / The Thin Man / The Glass Key / Red Harvest / The Maltese Falcon

I re-read Hammett's novels after acquiring a battered copy of this omnibus at a library sale. These novels show one of the fathers of "hard boiled" detective novels at work, and while they are entertaining and important to any understanding of the genre, they should not be taken too seriously. "The Maltese Falcon" features several passages of turgid prose that detract from Hammett's objective style; "Red Harvest" is almost cartoonish in its violence, "The Dain Curse" at times seems like a collaboration with Gothic writer Matthew "Monk" Lewis instead of a detective novel. Nevertheless, all of these novels retain interest for the reader and are far above what was being published by inferior writers of the same genres. Of the remaining two show more novels, "The Glass Key" was considered by Hammett himself as his best work, and the almost impenetrable psychological plotting and well-drawn characters give that claim some weight; while "The Thin Man" is a fine romp with a hint of melancholy as you can see in the heavy drinking of the hero the signs of Hammett's own decline. show less

THE MALTESE FALCON
July 11, 2017

I'm not a big fan of Hammett, but I revisited this as my daughter was reading it for a RL book club. I can never remember the actual story here. Now I know why. There isn't a particle of story in it. A few people get bumped off, a lot of dumb slang gets thrown about, and a woman acts like a complete ninny. Pages and pages are spent in pointless argument about how to go about something, neither side presenting any new reasons for "doing it my way". I like me a good noir novel; this one failed to establish the atmosphere for me. I love a fine hard-boiled detective, but Sam Spade has nothing to love. Sorry to trash a classic, but I'm not impressed. Also, there's the misogyny, and the fairly distasteful show more representation of homosexuals. show less

At first, I couldn't get into Hammett as I could Raymond Chandler. Chandler writes so beautifully, you just sink into it, even if the plot makes no sense. Hammett, on the other hand, can't be pinned down so easy. He goes from the Maltese Falcon, which is somewhat like a Chandler book, to the Thin Man, which is very different in tone, and in between, you have the Glass Key, which seems to float in some sort of borderland between waking and dreams. When you read these books in order and you come to that one, you expect the story to become more normal at some point, but it never does. Chandler wrote the same novel (to a large extent) each time--Hammett never wrote the same one twice. Strange then that he gave up on writing so early - or show more maybe that is the reason. He wasn't content to do the same thing over and over.

(Please don't think I'm knocking Chandler - I give him five star reviews also. He is a superior stylist to Hammett -- indeed, he is one of the great writers in the English language. But he wasn't as creative when it came to plots and settings. He used the same character in each of his novels, unlike Hammett, whose protagonists may share some traits, but are hardly the same.) show less

My dad sent me this multiple-novel edition when I was living in Ecuador and would get pretty hungry for books written in English. I had never really heard of Dashiell Hammett, but once I had his books in my hand, I pretty much read all five novels in one sitting. My roommate probably thought I was in a coma, I sat still so long. Whenever I read a little Hammett, I start wanting to talk about "dames" and drink mixed drinks. I love all of his books, but if you can only read ONE, I suggest /The Thin Man/, first because it has a married couple as the PI, and second because the characters guzzle alcohol at the rate of about 2 mixed drinks per paragraph, a ratio I have never before seen, even in memoirs about serious alcoholism. It's show more fantastic. If these were real people, none of them would have livers by the time they were forty pages in. show less

[The Maltese Falcon] by Dashiell Hammett

Sam Spade is the hardest boiled detective of the noir detectives, save Mike Hammer – the father of the private eye. Spade and his partner, Miles Archer, are hired by Miss Wonderly – you know everything you need to about this femme fatale when you hear her name – to follow a man who has run away with her younger sister. Archer is killed on the first night of the assignment and Spade sets out to get to the bottom of the caper. The twists of the investigation lead to an international conspiracy to retrieve a figurine – The Maltese Falcon of the book’s name.

Sam Spade is cold and determined – focused on justice, though of his own kind. The character and the story hatched an entire cannon show more of literature and film. Every detective that followed was a reduction of Spade on some level. Hammett’s genius is evident not just in the creation of a new kind of story but in the way he told the story.

Bottom Line: The grand-daddy of the hard-boiled detective story – all the others are a reduction of this one at some level.
5 bones!!!!! show less

This novel has a distinctively different atmosphere and tone from the the other novels I have read by Dashiell Hammett. It has none of the dark noir quality of The Red Harvest and Sam Spade would be distinctly out of place at a party given by Nick and Nora Charles. Hammett's smooth transition to such a different style of writing is a master craftsman at work. Hammett gives Nick Charles the witty repartee you might hear from Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker at the Algonquin Round Table. He wakes up at 11:00 a.m. and his first words are a request for "Something to cut the phlegm." He has a slick self confidence and does not appear to be fooled by the emotional posing of the Jorgensen family. Nora possesses an insightful intelligence and show more gets her share of good lines poking fun at Nick. At the same time there is a suspenseful murder story playing out to keep the reader interested. The story is set in the 1930's but the Depression is never mentioned. Nick is an ex-detective who now works full-time managing his wife's money. The story begins with the murder of someone connected to an old client of Nick's.
The old client was Clyde Wynant. His ex-wife married a European gigolo and now they are the Jorgensen family. Mimi, the ex-wife, is still attractive and has a bubbly exterior. She can also be mean as a snake when protecting what she wants. Nick Charles explains that Mimi always lies and when she is caught she will just come up with a different lie until you get tired of asking her questions. Her 18 year old son walks around snooping on everybody and asking about the meaning life. His sister Dorothy is a little older, an attractive airhead who spends a lot of time in speakeasies.
Hammett rounds out the characters with Wynant's lawyer and the ubiquitous Police Detective. The detective has some depth but the lawyer seems the typical high money professional and not very likeable. The plot moves well and has a good share of interesting twists and turns. They all spend a lot of time drinking and there is another murder to keep the story going. The ending is well done, very quickly with a surprise that ties up a lot of loose ends.
I thought the book was very well written. The author is able to shift moods quickly and his characters leave vivid lasting memories. This was a good book and I recommend it as an intelligent enjoyable reading experience. Hammett's five novels certainly left quite an impact on American literature. show less

Well, of the five, two are masterpieces - The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man! The other three are really good tales, two of which star the Continental Op, who happens to be a favorite of mine. I mean what's not to like? A self-described over weight detective whose name we never learn! Anyway, the first novel, "Red Harvest" is an Op tale and one that gets super complicated, super quick! A whole host of gangsters want to run Personville, or Poisonville as the locals call it, and the Op runs a muck between them! He does survive, as he is also the main character of "The Dain Curse"! Anyway, 5 novels of cool crime writing are waiting for you within these pages!