Tolog Review: The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon
by Dashiell Hammett
reviewed by Emily Gomez

In the year 1941, The Maltese Falcon, written by Dashiell Hammett, depicts the life of a private investigator living in San Francisco. The author is able to pull the reader in by immediately introducing a mystery in the novel. Through this conflict, many more arise grabbing the reader by the hand and leading him/her through a whirlwind of discovery and drama. The novel, written in the third person, establishes how a P.I. gets caught up in the case of lifetime which brings romance and crime into his life. Hammett details the actions that lead to love entering and exiting a life through one single event. As this private investigator goes works to understand the occurrences around him, he realizes, at every corner, there is something new to learn and question. Through his investigation, Sam Spade is able to distinguish between friend and foe.

Straight off the bat, Hammett uses lots of descriptors in his writing. When describing the characters, he is able to provide a strikingly accurate depiction of what the character look like. Hammett starts the book off giving the reader information on the appearance of the main character, “Sam Spade’s jaw was long and bony, his chin a jutting v under the more flexible v of his mouth” (Hammett 3). In this sentence, the author packed it with details and adjectives that gives the reader an incredible image of Sam Spade. Spade has a chiseled face with a strong jaw. Along with providing great detail in his writing, Hammett writes a novel riddled with suspense. In the beginning of the second chapter, Spade answers the phone, “Hello…. Yes, speaking…. Dead? … Yes…. Fifteen minutes. Thanks” (Hammett 11). Only eleven pages into the novel, the author produces a conflict for the main character to overcome. Hammett does not give any intimation as to how long it will take to solve or how deeply the characters will be affected. He simply gives the reader a reason to continue reading book. Around every corner, there is a new shocking piece of information that keeps the audience engaged and wanting more.

With the ups and downs, turn-a-rounds, and side steps, the reader never gets bored with Hammett’s writings. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for a dramatic thriller: anyone who wants to be left gaping at the end of every chapter. This book allows the reader to predict and have a little bit of fun trying to understand where the storyline will take him/her next. Hammett provides the audience with a romance and scandal.