The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) [Hardcover]

Raymond Chandler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2002

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

Raymond Chandler’s first three novels, published here in one volume, established his reputation as an unsurpassed master of hard-boiled detective fiction.

The Big Sleep, Chandler’s first novel, introduces Philip Marlowe, a private detective inhabiting the seamy side of Los Angeles in the 1930s, as he takes on a case involving a paralyzed California millionaire, two psychotic daughters, blackmail, and murder. In Farewell, My Lovely, Marlowe deals with the gambling circuit, a murder he stumbles upon, and three very beautiful but potentially deadly women. In The High Window, Marlowe searches the California underworld for a priceless gold coin and finds himself deep in the tangled affairs of a dead coin collector.

In all three novels, Chandler’s hard-edged prose, colorful characters, vivid vernacular, and, above all, his enigmatic loner of a hero, enduringly establish his claim not only to the heights of his chosen genre but to the pantheon of literary art.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

It was a big year for Chandler: not only did Knopf release his full canon in this hardcover trio, which includes some long-out-of-print stories, but Vintage also released a new set of paperbacks (LJ 7/02) of all his books. (LJ 9/15/02)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“Raymond Chandler is a master.” –New York Times

“Chandler wrote like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence.” –Ross Macdonald

“Raymond Chandler invented a new way of talking about America, and America has never looked the same to us since.” –Paul Auster

“The prose rises to heights of unself-conscious eloquence, and we realize with a jolt of excitement that we are in the presence of not a mere action-tale teller, but a stylist, a writer with a vision…The reader is captivated by Chandler’s seductive prose.” –Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books

“Chandler is one of my favorite writers. His books bear rereading every few years. The novels are a perfect snapshot of an American past, and yet the ruined romanticism of the voice is as fresh as if they were written yesterday.” –Jonathan Lethem

“Chandler seems to have invented our post-war dream lives–the tough but tender hero, the dangerous blonde, the rain-washed sidewalks, and the roar of the traffic (and the ocean) in the distance…Chandler is the classic lonely romantic outsider for our times, and American literature, as well as English, would be the poorer for his absence.” –Pico Iyer

With a new Introduction by Diane Johnson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 696 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library (October 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375415017
• ISBN-13: 978-0375415012
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 1.5 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get it. Get this edition., May 29, 2008

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Hamilton Heights, Harlem, NY - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

Not whether to get it -- for you must -- but which edition to get it in -- that is the question. And the Everyman's edition is the edition you want. It has three novels to Modern Library's two, and its paper is thicker than that of the Library of America edition. The font is a tad smaller than that in the Vintage Crime paperback editions, but still pleasantly readable. And the hardcover binding is a sturdy, beautiful and very strokable red cloth.

As for the novels themselves, well, suffice to say, they are classics: addictive, page-turning, vivid, funny, haunting. The characters are original and believable. All rendered in tight prose and witty, convincing dialogues.

Enjoy.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun!, April 12, 2005

By 

Thomas Reiter (Washington DC, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

I am generally not very interested in mystery/detective books and don't think that I've read any other than a few Sherlock Holmes books many years ago. That said, I picked this book up on a whim and really enjoyed it.

The short novels included in this book all feature LA private eye Phillip Marlowe and are apparently set in the '30s and '40s. I really liked the following aspects of these novels:

1) It is really fun to read Chandler's descriptions of the places, clothes, cars, slang, mannerisms, characters, etc. of the time. Marlowe's wise-crack observations, while cliched, often had me laughing out loud;

2) While Chandler uses all of the stock characters (smooth but menacing nightclub owners, sultry crooners, wise-guy PIs, effete rich buffoons, etc.), he really makes most of them come alive with the dialogue and their interactions with each other. In other words, Chandler does a great job of taking what would seem to be card-board cut-out characters and breathing life into them;

3) Marlowe is able to resolve most conflicts with a couple glasses of whiskey and some wise-cracks, especially if a "dame" is involved. Today, it seems like most such conflicts would be resolved with a burst of AK-47 fire or worse. While no doubt highly idealized, Chandler's more innocent world is appealing to read about.

4) For what it is worth, I am a big fan of the Everyman's Library series (which this edition is part of)--they are attractive, have good heft, include a page-marker ribbon, etc.

Probably my only criticism of these novels is that the plots are a bit contrived, but I guess that is part of the fun.

TMR

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chandler reigns, January 20, 2006

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impitbosshereonlevel2 "impitbosshereonlevel2" (Merced) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Big Sleep; Farewell, My Lovely; The High Window (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

I first came across Chandler when I heard the Coen brothers interview and discovered that 'The Big Lebowski' was written in the style of one (name itself being derived from 'The Big Sleep'). This alone interested me enough to buy and read The Big Sleep.

Six novels later, I'm still reading Chandler novels, and still finding each and every one different, interesting and intriguing. The main character Marlowe is a wisecracking detective, wary of women - whom he obviously mistrusts - except for the "bad type of women", for whom he does not particularly care. He is also a complex, intelligent man, often an altruist who goes to some extraordinary lengths for his clients, even when he's not paid.

Novels are usually set in 30's/40's Hollywood and Bay City (which is since called something else), and are especially nostalgic, if you've lived in the surrounding areas.

Chandler's writing is funny and unique - the stories - all told in first person, are written so that the reader is both aware of Marlowe's conscious thoughts, and at the same time, when the ending or some pivotal point in the story arrives - is not. This point is not easy to describe, but it works extremely well - the stories are always amusing, captivating, and suspenseful.

I will easily recommend any Chandler novel for anyone interested in mysteries, as well as to those that enjoy unconventional styles of storytelling.