The Maltese Falcon: This Bird Is Not the Word

The Maltese Falcon:

This Bird is not the Word

“The best mystery ever written was The Maltese Falcon.” - Ross

Macdonald, Canadian crime fiction writer. Dashiell Hammett’s novel, The Maltese Falcon, has garnered praise for eighty-five years. Frequently heralded as the ‘mother of all detective fiction’ and a ‘modern classic’, the Maltese Falcon was the original private eye story. However I was less than impressed. Due to sub-par writing, unengaging characters and a weak plot, a disappointing overall theme in terms of relatability and humanity, the Maltese Falcon does not live up to its status as classic literature, nor the best mystery ever written.

Dashiell Hammett is often commended for his unique writing style. Although many enjoy his grit, I was bored by his simple writing, the amount of mundane detail, and his third person limited narrative. Third person limited narrative is a common writing style, and often a positive one. In this case though, it was more of a hindrance to enjoyment and understanding than anything. Lack of any sort of justification for the characters somewhat erratic behaviour made any sort of emotional connection nearly impossible. Did Brigid O’Shaughnessy really love Samuel Spade? What about the other way around? If Sam did love Brigid, why would he turn her in? Some may justify such a narrative by saying that the limited expression of emotions meant that the actions were all the more meaningful and telling. In my opinion all it did was weaken emotional appeal, and as a result make the novel very unengaging.

Hammetts often praised gritty and simple writing style was in my eyes another hindrance to enjoyment of the novel. Originally serialized in a magazine, Black Mask, in 1929, the story was targeted towards the masses, so action and simple english were necessary. Maybe enjoyable to the less educated populace of the time, The Maltese Falcon’s short sentences and simple vocabulary take away from the imagery of the story. Imagery is necessary to create escapism for the reader. Sentences like “His skin was fair.” (pg.93, The Maltese Falcon) do not evoke strong images for the reader.

The novel is also written in a very linear fashion. The experience of reading the novel is a bit like reading a list of events, not a well rounded story. Notice the choppy sentences, simple word choice and how it makes for a boring reading experience in the following passage:

“They kissed. She went into the Coronet. He told the chauffeur: ‘Hotel Belvedere.’...” (pg.93, The Maltese Falcon)

The third criticism I have of Dashiell Hammett's writing is his incessant detail of the most inconsequential events and objects. While some commend this objective style of writing, most find it tedious. When Samuel Spades partner is shot, we get no insight into his feelings, rather this passage:

“Spade’s thick fingers made a cigarette with deliberate care, sifting a measured quantity of tan flakes down into curved paper, spreading the flakes so that they lay equal at the ends with a slight depression in the middle, thumbs rolling the papers inner edge down and up under the outer edge as forefingers pressed it over, thumbs and fingers sliding to the paper cylinder’s ends to hold it even while tongue licked the flap, left forefinger and thumb pinching their end while the right forefinger and thumb smoothed the damp seam, right forefinger and thumb twisting their end and lifting the other to Spade’s mouth.” (pg. 11-12, The Maltese Falcon)

This passage is not only tedious to read, but painful! The subject matter is irrelevant, the detail unnecessary, and is a substitute for any legitimate depth or character development.

Writing styles aren’t the only weak aspect of The Maltese Falcon. It’s characters and plot are both one-dimensional and unengaging. Our main character, Samuel Spade, Private Eye, is very one-dimensional. His only defining characteristics are his masculinity and coldness. Readers like to relate to the characters of a story, and the character of Samuel Spade is one of the most cliche and depthless out there. The empty characters are a result of both lack of creativity, and the third person limited narrative. Sam Spade isn’t the only superficial, cliche character in the novel either, there’s Casper Gutman (Gutman? He’s an obese mob boss!) and Joel Cairo (Cairo? He’s from the middle east!). Not only are these characters boring, they’re nearly impossible to sympathize with.

These characters could be alright too, that is if they experienced any growth. Character growth is one of the most important aspects of any novel. The events of the story should ultimately change our protagonist, showing that the events were at least fairly significant to our protagonist as a person. In The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade walks out the very same masculine and cold man he was before. This is, as always, a result of poor writing, but also a very weak plot.

People enjoy detective novels for their intricate plots and many twists and turns. The Maltese Falcon, however, had one of the most uneventful, predictable, and half-baked plots I’ve ever encountered. Hammett’s story often gains praise for its realism, as he once