Customer Reviews

The Big Sleep

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Big Sleep," written in 1939, was Raymond Chandler's first Philip Marlowe novel. Chandler went on to write several other classic noir novels, like "Farewell, My Lovely," "The High Window," and "The Long Goodbye." Chandler did not start writing his classic works until the age of forty-five, when he began submitting short stories to pulp magazines like Mask. Sadly, Chandler died in 1959, effectively depriving us of more classic Marlowe novels and stories. The shame of the whole thing is Chandler did not start writing until late in his life, although seeing how some great authors decline over the course of their careers perhaps it is best we only have a few novels from Raymond Chandler.

"The Big Sleep" finds Marlowe in the employ of General Sternwood, a wealthy but dying oil tycoon. Sternwood wants Marlowe to track down a blackmailer who is trying to bleed some money out of the old general. The problem is Sternwood's two daughters, Carmen and Vivian. Both women have major problems; Carmen is just plain weird, suffering from seizures and a penchant for sleeping around with scum of the earth types. Vivian is not much better; she is a heavy gambler who dates (and marries) mob types. In the course of working the case, Marlowe uncovers underground pornography shops, blackmailers, gambling dens, a couple of murders, and other seedy events in the growing town of Los Angeles. Like other Chandler novels, what we initially see is hardly the whole enchilada. While working the case, Marlowe stumbles on deeper and deeper mysteries involving a missing mobster and his abducted wife.

While "The Big Sleep" is Chandler's best known work, it is not his best novel. It seems that Chandler is still working out the style and form later expressed so gallantly in "The Long Goodbye." "The Big Sleep" is classic Chandler; there is plenty of the gritty atmosphere, amusing wordplay and slang, and despicable characters found in Chandler's later novels. The problem with "The Big Sleep" is that the story does not hold together well. Far too often, I found myself wondering why things happened the way they did, or I had trouble following the twists and turns of the case.

Even a somewhat confusing story line does not cause much damage to the entertainment value of "The Big Sleep." You still get the classic snappy dialogue between Marlowe and everyone he encounters, and that is always fun to read. Even more exciting is the realization that you are reading the first book length effort from a master of noir fiction. You can see how he develops his technique by comparing this book with his later novels.

What is also amusing is seeing how Chandler paints L.A. at the end of the 1930's. By that time, Los Angeles had yet experienced the enormous growth of the post World War II era. At one point, one of the characters in the book states that L.A. is still a growing town. You have to chuckle over Marlowe's discovery of a pornography shop operating with police protection-this in what is today the home of the pornography industry!

Any fans of Chandler will want to read "The Big Sleep" eventually, although I recommend starting with some of his later novels first. Nearly forty-five years after Chandler's death, there is still no one who can touch the master. That fact alone should convince anyone interested in crime novels to read everything Chandler ever wrote.

It's often been said that Raymond Chandler is the quintessential writer about Los Angeles in the 1940's in the way that Faulkner fictionalized the American South. The Big Sleep is the best example of Chandler's affinity for the city, particularly in the light of it's unique blend of pre-fabricated history associated with the film industry and the pre-Hollywood era. That being said, it's a bit ironic that we tend to think of Philip Marlowe as personified by Humphrey Bogart, even though he's been played by several actors over the years and the film of The Big Sleep is markedly different from the book.

"Chandleresque" suggests a certain style of writing and of using metaphors and language that can't really be described to anyone unfamiliar with his work without lapsing into stereotype. For any other mystery writer, that would be a negative, but since Chandler is the man who, with The Big Sleep, more or less invented the detective novel as we know it today it's astonishing to read and realize what kind of impact it might have had on those who read the first printing.

The Big Sleep introduces Philip Marlowe as the private eye who is both uncorruptable and one step ahead of his antagonists. His characterization is what drives the story, which as mysteries go is not the most suspensful or even all that mysterious. Indeed, the "mystery" such as it is is barely given notice by Chandler, short of the necessities. While there are some good plot twists, they seem to come together in a generally haphazard manner. None of that matters, because the main interest is in what Marlowe will do next and how he will react. Chandler creates some interesting supporting characters as well, but they float in and out of the story overwhelmed by the protagonist.

The Big Sleep is an excellent starting point for getting re-acquainted with classic detective fiction and exploring the development of the genre. It's a relatively quick read as well, which helps the suspense build and leaves you wanting more. It's also a classic vessel for channeling the aura of Los Angeles as it was in what we consider to be its heyday, and what Chandler considered to be something else altogether.

There isn't any question about where American noir fiction began: all fingers point to James M. Cain's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE. Likewise, there isn't any question about where the tough California P.I. novel started: the credit goes to Dashiell Hammett's THE MALTESE FALCON. But in 1939, a pulp magazine writer fused the two concepts, and the result is a style--street-smart, tough, witty, and compellingly direct--that belongs to one writer only: Raymond Chandler. And his first novel, THE BIG SLEEP, made him a household name.

In some respects THE BIG SLEEP is a problematic novel. The plot concerns detective Philip Marlowe's efforts to protect the wealthy Sternwood family from blackmail--but from this starting point it spins out into several complicated directions. Chandler manages this myriad of elements very well through the first half of the novel, but at mid-point the plot breaks apart into a series of loose ends and improbabilities from which it doesn't recover until the last fifty pages--and then only just. But that is almost beside the point. Thanks to Chandler's unique style, you simply can't put the book down long enough to criticize it.

THE BIG SLEEP reads with tremendous speed and power, creating a portrait of a seamy world ruled by bisexual pornographers, purring hitmen, cheap hoods, and enameled dames determined to have their way no matter what--a fascinating collection of everything small and mean and gutter common. At the same time, it also presents a surprising degree of integrity in the midst of the corruption: Marlowe won't sell out, no matter what the bribe, and behind their various masks the hardbitten Vivien Sternwood, mysterious Mona Mars, and small-time Harry Jones have enough courage, loyalty, and unexpected integrity to win your respect.

THE BIG SLEEP is not the perfect novel. But it is extremely, extremely readable, and with it Chandler paves the way for everything from Sue Grafton's popular mystery series to television crime drama. Chandler's voice here is often imitated, but it has been seldom equalled and never really bested, and both his style and THE BIG SLEEP remain as potent today as they were when the novel was first published. Strongly recommended.

A work so complex that even the author didn't know exactly who did what to whom and why may sound confusing to your average reader of mystery stories--especially one who wants the plot resolved neatly and tidily. Yet Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep pulls it off remarkably. A lesser writer never would have succeeded, however, Chandler's prose is so captivating, and Philip Marlowe is such a an endearing scoundrel, that it is easy to over-look such trivialities as plot. Although he was an obsessive, Chandler never was one for neat and tidy plots. In fact, as he even admitted, he wasn't much for plots at all. In this book, considered by many to be his finest, he achieves his highest unity of dialogue, plot and characterization. Philip Marlowe seems to skulk across the page in a glancing fashion (and if that makes sense to you, you HAVE been reading too much Chandler). Wry, self-depracating, witty, and unfathomably intelligent, he becomes the shop worn galahad, the original noir detective. If at times the lines seem a bit cliched, the film noir quality painted on a bit thick, the reader must keep in mind, this is where it came from first. Without Raymond Chandler, there would have been no Blade Runner. As both a linguist and a writer, I am infinitely in love with both Chandler's work and Philip Marlowe. There is an intelligence in this prose that is rarely found anywhere, let alone detective fiction. And his similes and metaphors are simply the best anyone has ever written. I read my first Chandler while working on an honors research project as an undergrad and was so captivated I read all of his stuff straight through. If you only have time to read one or two of his works, start here and then read Farewell My lovely, but I gaurantee, anyone who loves words and the American Language won't be able to stop there.

Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep is a great example of a seminal novel that is not actually a very good one. It helped establish numerous tropes of the hardboiled mystery subgenre, but the plot is a stitched-together, unsatisfying mess and the psychology is risible. About halfway though the novel, the plot--never very mentally stimulating--runs out of steam. Chandler throws in a naked girl in the hero's bed, some beatings and some shootings before reaching his finish, which predictably turns on the hardboiled keystone credo, "dames are bad news."

Chandler's main purpose in this book seems to be to convey his conception of masculine dignity and honor withstanding the temptations offered by rich, decadent, beautiful young women. This is a valid enough idea for a novel and the opening image of the knight in stained glass in a truly arresting one, but Chandler's "psychology" is blundering and heavyhanded. He was quite daring for his day in his presentation of blatantly loose women and "degenerate" homosexuals, but these depictions are not only insulting and offputting now but I would argue quite shallow (thumb-sucking, loose-bladdered, nymphomaniac Carmen has to be one of the most cartoonish and misogynistic creations in the genre by a serious writer). The characters with whom Chandler sympathizes are his ego-projection detective, Philip Marlowe, and Marlowe's original client, old, dying General Sternwood; tellingly, these are the only characters in the book who get anything beyond surface treatment.

In The Big Sleep Chandler achieves some of his patented, pithy bon mots, but his writing would get better in his next book, Farewell, My Lovely, as would his plotting. Chandler is a great figure in the genre and he produced some great detective novels, but The Big Sleep is not one of them.

Raymond Chandler's very first attempt at a detective novel was a clear winner. The Big Sleep features a complex plot and a fantastic character - Philip Marlowe.

Chandler set his story in the gritty streets of Los Angeles, with a detective who was known for doing the right thing rather than what he was told to do. Philip Marlowe became an instant icon not only amongst mystery and detective fans, but among readers everywhere. When this became a movie in 1945 with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, even though the movie cut out a lot of the plot complexities, the characters affected the lives of millions.

Chandler's writing style is simply phenomonal. He describes the ins and outs of the city and its suburbs, giving you vivid impressions of that world. He moves from lush mansions to dingy bars, with each character having strong motivations, backgrounds, reasons for being.

In a time when minorities were discounted as meaningless and women were considered the "lesser sex", Marlowe plows right in with a fair eye for all. He takes on work with blacks that others disdain. He treats women as being intelligent while others discount them. The stories talk about homosexuality and porn and other topics as a "part of life". It's interesting how much of the books had to be 'white washed' to be made into movies.

If you read this story and then read many of today's detective stories, you can see clear traces of what Chandler began in the works of others. His style, his incredible humor, his honor and justice. His desire to do what was right even when others around him pushed him to do the "easy thing". A Big Sleep is a must read for any mystery fan, to see where it all began.

Another book in my quest to read the classics - A great addition to the list! I am a big fan of mystery books such as Sue Grafton's alphabet series...now I see how the genre began. Raymond Chandler sets the bar for other PI novels to follow.

THE BIG SLEEP introduces us to Phillip Marlowe - a sarcastic PI with a unique perspective on things. Marlowe is hired by an aging rich man to find out who is blackmailing one of his daughters. Marlowe finds out the blackmailing is only the beginning of a tangled web of intrigue. There are two murders that seem unrelated at first, however as the book progresses Chandler does a wonderful job of weaving them together.

Chandler's writing style is pure joy to read....each scene is described in great detail, you feel like you are there. I love Marlowe's dialogue - tough, sarcastic and to the point. The BIG SLEEP is a classic mystery any fan of mystery novels should read.

I don't think that it is an exaggeration to call The Big Sleep one of the best American novels ever written. It is the novel that introduces Phillip Marlowe to the world - as well as the inimitable literary styling of Raymond Chandler. No one knew how to work a simile quite the way Chandler could. It has been parodied, but never duplicated.

The plot of the novel is almost impossible to follow, but who cares. Phillip Marlowe is hired by General Sternwood because he is being blackmailed. Soon after, people keep turning up dead. "So many guns in this town and so little brains," Marlowe observed. There is the famous story: when Howard Hawks was filming the movie, he couldn't figure out who killed the chauffer. He sent a letter to Chandler - who couldn't figure it out either.

Just enjoy the book. It not only bears reading but re-reading. It is truly classic literature.

This is the best of the best when it comes to Raymond Chandler. I am a long time fan of the detective novel and this one ranks top on my list. I read The Big Sleep along with David Lehman's reissue of "The Perfect Murder: A Study in Detection" and found the two books perfect companions for anyone who loves the classic WHODUNIT.

"Where there is mystery, it is generally suspected there must also be evil."
Lord Byron

The novel takes place during the 1930's and is set in the seedy world of Los Angeles, a place Jack Kerouac once described as 'a jungle'. The story is told to us through the eyes of the main protagonist - private investigator Phillip Marlowe. To me, Marlowe is a fusion of Dirty Harry, Howard Rourke and Jim Rockford all rolled into one. He's got that machismo, loner thing going on and you know how we Americans love that type of character (i.e. see above). He's also an extremely honest and straight-shooting sleuth, absolutely no BS in the guy. He's your true-blue American hero, married to his job, battling endlessly with the hypocrisy of the powers-to-be and not afraid of anyone or anything.

The story begins when a dying millionaire hires Marlowe to find the blackmailer of one his daughters. The old man, like Balzac's Old Goriot, has two spoiled, self-absorbed party girls as daughters - Carmen and Vivian - and they are always seemingly getting into trouble. However, this time one of them is in BIG trouble and it's up to our hero Marlowe to save the day. This imaginative, hardboiled work of fiction got really convoluted about midway through the novel for me, but I still plowed on until it's very end, and never did my enthusiasm ebb. It's the type of story I couldn't wait to finish in order to unravel the mystery.

Raymond Chandler was some kind of writer - acerbic, satirical, brutally honest and candid, yet his prose also contains a certain magnetism and simple elegance that makes this author, at least in this reviewer's opinion, a joy to read. I am looking forward to not only reading his other works, but also catching "The Big Sleep" on film, the classic by Howard Hawks starring Bogie and Bacall. A film that I have abstained from because I wanted to read the book first; and now I'm off to rent me a film folks...

A great story!