A review by graywild
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have seen the movie with Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston and Tim Holt many times so I was interested in reading the original source material.  The story follows Dobbs as he is desperately poor in Mexico and trying to get hired on at the booming fields.  He eventually falls in with Howard and Curtin and they decide the only way to make money is to mine for gold.  The partnership is not a friendship but rather a need based partnership - they cannot mine with only 2 people. Lots of discussion of greed and crazy things it makes you do as the book progresses.  There is a long section of a story about bandits that for me disrupts the flow but overall I would recommend the book.