David Kipen (NEA Director of Literature) visited more than 200 communities across the nation that participated in the Big Read during 2007. Kipen blogs regularly about the events he attends, the readers and writers he meets, the insights community residents share about the Big Read novels, and much more.Visit his Big Read blog (go here) .
Here is part of what David Kipen has to say about his reading encounter with The Maltese Falcon.
“. . . So I picked up The Maltese Falcon with trepidation; I was afraid it might ruin the movie for me.
“Two things immediately struck me: one, the description of Sam Spade resembled nothing of Humphrey Bogart, and two, the brilliant dialogue from the film seemed to have come entirely from the book.
“The Maltese Falcon compelled me to be less likely to categorize and dismiss a book because of its popularity or the “genre” it was written in. Good writing is good writing, whether it is decreed from on high by the literary gods to be “literature” or a paperback picked up at the airport. All that matters is the words on the page. And that’s the stuff that dreams are made of (go here) which, incidentally, isn’t a line from the book—allegedly it was thought up by Bogart on the movie set….” [Or did Bogie borrow from Shakespeare? (go here) --gary daily]
David Kipen provides plenty to chew on here.
--Book versus movie/movie versus book -- comments?
–Did first knowing the movie characters ruin or add to your pleasure when you read this book?
–Are you in agreement with Kipen’s view that, “Good writing is good writing, whether it is decreed from on high by the literary gods to be ‘literature’ or a paperback picked up at the airport.”?
3 comments:
Just trying to test the comment device on this blog. But I'll add a question here anyway:
If you've seen the movie and read the book, which actor comes closest to how you visualize Hammett's characters?
I am a bit confused about Rhea Gutman - who did what to whom and why? I do realize she was using the pin herself to keep awake until Sam got there. But why was she drugged and who did it?
In all of the discussions taking place, and all of the commentaries I've read, there is nothing that satisfactorily explains the part this character plays in the novel.
I'm tempted to say that Hammett through her in as a kind of a sensational nod to his pulp writing days.
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