So, I am a few chapters into The Maltese Falcon and I can say that knowing the Bogart movie as well as I do has changed the reading experience for me. The dialogue in the movie follows the book quite closely so far. This means that although Sam Spade is described in the novel as a "blond satan" I can't get Humphrey Bogart's face and voice out of my head when I read about Spade. Joel Cairo is Peter Lorre in my head as well. I have the same problem with The Lord of the Rings. With the movie out, all I see when I read is Elijah Wood as Frodo and Ian McKellan as Gandalf. Do you think this diminishes the reading experience? or is it a good thing?
Also I do have to say that I was shocked by the homophobic portrayal of Joel Cairo. I knew it was there but Hammett lays it on pretty thick; all the "mincing steps" and "perfumed handkerchiefs" are distracting. This might be something to talk about when we meet. How do stereotypes in an older book affect our enjoyment of the book? How should we react to these kinds of negative stereotypes? Anyway just something to think about.
I have that problem with movies too. When I read a book I've seen the movie for already, it takes a lot of focus to make myself create a new character in my head who looks like the author intended. Lord of the Rings is the perfect example. I saw two movies before I read the books and Gandalf is definitely Sir Ian in my mind when I read. I'm really excited to watch the movie again! I'm enjoying the read so far.
ReplyDeleteI've decided I'm horrible at picking up on stereotype clues unless they are blatantly racist. I didn't even notice those descriptions of Cairo. You pose an interesting question. I'm curious to see what you all think!