Perchance to Dream [Paperback]

Robert B. Parker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1993

In a sequel to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep, Marlowe takes on a case involving General Sternwood, who is six feet under, Vivian, who is dating a blackmailer, and Carmen, a sanitorium escapee. Reprint. K.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Parker, author of the Spenser novels, has made this "sequel to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep " a stunning, drop-dead success. Private eye Philip Marlowe spins a yarn of greed, madness and death with the cool-eyed cynicism (and good-guy core) that made him the classic hardboiled dick. The era is post-WW II ("GI mortgages"), possibly early '50s ("cha cha cha"), the L.A. dream beginning to sour. Psychotic Carmen Sternwood is missing from an expensive sanatorium. After sultry Vivian has enlisted suave gangster Eddie Mars to locate her sister, the family butler, Norris, hires Marlowe for the same purpose. Sanatorium head Dr. Bonsentir stonewalls Marlowe's queries by using some heavy political clout, but further probing leads to a kinky billionaire who is practically untouchable. Marlowe is beaten up, a chopped-up body is found and an ex-inmate of the asylum dies "accidentally" before the PI uncovers a water-rights scam involving millions. Parker's effort goes beyond pastiche: he uses flashbacks from The Big Sleep daringly and seamlessly, and his terse style (a cop asks for the time of death: "Any idea when yet?") is flawlessly in Chandler's footsteps. This is dazzling.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Parker is the internationally best-selling author of the Spenser mysteries. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Elliot Gould has starred in such diverse motion pictures as "M*A*S*H", Ingmar Burgman's "The Touch" and Steven Soderbergh's " Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, " and " Thirteen". He played Jack Geller in the hit TV-comedy "Friends" and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in " Bo and Carol and Ted and Alice".

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425131319
• ISBN-13: 978-0425131312
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) has long been acknowledged as the dean of American crime fiction. His novel featuring the wise-cracking, street-smart Boston private-eye Spenser earned him a devoted following and reams of critical acclaim, typified by R.W.B. Lewis' comment, "We are witnessing one of the great series in the history of the American detective story" (The New York Times Book Review). In June and October of 2005, Parker had national bestsellers with APPALOOSA and SCHOOL DAYS, and continued his winning streak in February of 2006 with his latest Jesse Stone novel, SEA CHANGE.

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Parker attended Colby College in Maine, served with the Army in Korea, and then completed a Ph.D. in English at Boston University. He married his wife Joan in 1956; they raised two sons, David and Daniel. Together the Parkers founded Pearl Productions, a Boston-based independent film company named after their short-haired pointer, Pearl, who has also been featured in many of Parker's novels.

Parker began writing his Spenser novels in 1971 while teaching at Boston's Northeastern University. Little did he suspect then that his witty, literate prose and psychological insights would make him keeper-of-the-flame of America's rich tradition of detective fiction. Parker's fictional Spenser inspired the ABC-TV series Spenser: For Hire. In February 2005, CBS-TV broadcast its highly-rated adaptation of the Jesse Stone novel Stone Cold, which featured Tom Selleck in the lead role as Parker's small-town police chief. The second CBS movie, Night Passage, also scored high ratings, and the third, Death in Paradise, aired on April 30, 2006.

Parker was named Grand Master of the 2002 Edgar Awards by the Mystery Writers of America, an honor shared with earlier masters such as Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen.

Parker died on January 19, 2010, at the age of 77.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars half-hearted romp through the mean streets, June 22, 2001

By 

thecastlebookroom "thecastlebookroom" (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Perchance to Dream: Robert B. Parker's Sequel to Raymond Chandler's the Big Sleep (Hardcover)

a little background is in order (as I understand it): the heirs of Chandler approached Parker to finish the Poodle Springs manuscript, and part of the deal was that he had to write one more Marlowe story. 'Dream' is that one more. The job was almost impossible to begin with (Chandler's drinking had taken the edge off his talent by that time, and the Poodle manuscript got off on the wrong foot to boot), the Chandler fans ripped it for not being up to Chandler's prime (which even Chandler himself wasn't, towards the end), the Parker fans ripped it for not being true Spencer, and Parker felt the strain of wearing another man's shoes. So by the time he got to this one, my guess is, his heart wasn't in it. He's said he'll never do another Marlowe book. That said, it's still good to have Marlowe back, cracking wise and cruising the mean streets again. I liked it better than Chandler's "The Pencil", and better than some of the Spencer books! I just wish Parker would reconsider, and do another Marlowe book without the pressures and constraints of a contract. Marlowe, like Sherlock, is a detective who deserves to live on after his progenitor, but the return of L.A.'s hard-boiled prose-poet is, perchance, just a dream.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sequel to "Big Sleep" 50 years later: fun and true to form Philip Marlowe !!, October 9, 2005

By 

Gerald M. Bull "Jerry Bull" (Fairview, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perchance to Dream (Sequel to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep) (Hardcover)

We really admire Parker for having the knowledge and creativity to "dream" up a new Philip Marlowe some fifty years after the original "Big Sleep" {1939} was published. We may be influenced by having just recently read Chandler's original first novel (so it was fresh in our mind), but we thought Parker did a great job. First, his use of literal quotation from the original made an effective prologue as well as effective transitions for the plot line that continued in his sequel. Second, his replication of Marlowe, with which he had prior experience in finishing Chandler's last work, Poodle Springs {to which Chandler only contributed the first four chapters}, was so credible we barely missed the masterful prose of the series creator.

In the story, the younger of (now deceased) General Sternwood's daughters, Carmen, is missing from a sanitarium to which she was committed as part of the outcome of "Sleep". Her sister Vivian, with whom Marlowe eventually became infatuated enough to bed, wants her found, but turned to another of her friends from the first book, Eddie Mars, to find. Meanwhile Norris the butler hires Marlowe to do the same, and ironically he and Eddie form an unlikely alliance at times to pursue matters. Before it's over, a scheme to make a millionaire out of the sanitarium founder, in cohorts with a wealthy land baron recluse, is uncovered; as is the perpetrator of a couple more killings along the way. Naturally the urbane but dogged Marlowe finds time in between drinking, smoking, and wowing attractive women, to unravel all and ride off into the sunset as a hero.

Some might quibble that Parker is a mediocre substitute for Mr. Chandler, but who might be up to the task of stringing wordcraft in that author's stead? We found Parker's plot quite entertaining in its own merits and his ability to credibly bring Marlowe back to life after fifty years quite remarkable. We enjoyed the book immensely, and found it no unworthy companion to his main man Spenser. Indeed, we commend this book to Chandler and Marlowe devotees!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Sequel to The Big Sleep, March 9, 2008

By 

C. Baker "cbaker" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Perchance to Dream (Paperback)

Perchance to Dream is Robert B. Parker's sequel to Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. Here, once again, Marlowe runs into the crazy sisters Vivian and Carmen Sternwood. In the Big Sleep, as you know, Carmen is totally insane and killed a man and was put away in a sanitarium. Here, she disappears and the Sternwood butler, who has been left a lot of money by the girls' father, hires Marlow to find her. Problem is it seems nobody wants him to look for her, much less find her. Of course Marlow runs into all kinds of shady dealings and nefarious characters in his search and it turns out to be rather standard mystery novel.

Overall, this novel is a bit too much like the Big Sleep. Although the plot is quite different, I almost felt like I was reading the same novel over again. And I never really did find the Sternwood sisters to be all that believable as characters. Nevertheless, it was very entertaining and well done novel so I would recommend it to Parker and Chandler fans.