Customer Reviews

The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely (Modern Library)

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Seeing as how "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely" are the first two Philip Marlowe detective novels that Raymond Chandler wrote (published in 1939 and 1940, respectively), this is a grand place for a Chandler novice to begin pursuing the morally decrepit alleys and boulevards of the rich and not-so-rich in Los Angeles.

One thing you should note is that Chandler held the conventional detective stories (think: Agatha Christie) in disdain. Ergo, any attempt of mine to barf back the plots to you is a waste of time. They are so complex that you often forget exactly what happened shortly after you finish reading the books themselves...which doesn't detract from their quality whatsoever mind you. It's been told often enough that after their publication, Chandler often didn't even know what was going on in his own novels!

Suffice to say that both books concern murder among the wealthy elites in L.A. during Chandler's life--a time when the city was a lot smaller than its present size, and more hostile to outsiders--particularly to people of color. "The Big Sleep" concerns a disappearance and a reclusive millionaire and his two daughters (one is a mentally deranged nymphomaniac; the other is a bit more sensible, but no less shady) and the lengths he'll go to protect them. While this isn't the best Marlowe novel, this is probably the best place to start. Plus, it got made into a pretty good movie starring Bogie and Bacall.

"Farewell, My Lovely" is perhaps the most politically incorrect of the Marlowe books. It starts off with a murder at a bar in South Central L.A. and extends its tentacles into jewel heists and gambling rings where it is difficult to ascertain exactly who is doing what to whom. In Chandler's L.A., nothing is what it seems.

The story itself is engrossing, however, you must prepare yourself for Marlowe dropping the "N" word at least once, and his mockery of an American Indian for speaking in pidgeon English. Remember that this was 1940 and was 25 years before the Watts riots began to put an end to the white-dominated old boys network that used to rule L.A. That in itself makes it an interesting look at the mentality of the powers at be (the wealthy, the LAPD) and see how much has changed since Chandler's day...and how much hasn't.

My personal favorite of Chandler's books is "The Long Goodbye"--the second-to-last Marlowe novel that was published in 1954. I would rank both of these books below that one, but "Farewell, My Lovely" is a close second, while "The Big Sleep" is an auspicious debut for the hard-boiled, cynical, yet romantic ...

For those who are willing to take more than a passive interest in the works of Raymond Chandler, this two-book set is an excellent place to start. Furthermore, for those who are merely casual Chandler fans, this set is great because these two books are among his best (and it looks nice on your bookshelf too!)

Raymond Chandler was not just a mystery writer, but a keen observer of the human condition. In this edition, two of his Philip Marlowe novels are collected in one volume. These stories are positively ALIVE with atmosphere and characterization. Dont miss these novels, as a great introduction to Chandler's work. You can feel the emotions boiling under ther surface of these characters, especially Marlowe, an honorable man in an increasingly dishonorable world. Not to be missed!

I read this largely on a whim, having had no exposure to this genre before except various parodies of it. I can easily see why this style of book in general and the "hard-boiled" presentation in particular remains popular 70+ years after the fact. After finishing The Big Sleep, my initial reaction was an urge to quit my job and become a private detective.

Chandler can write: he has an sense of vivid description, and his use of similes is masterful. His prose alone was a pleasure to read, but he also has a keen sense of characters, plots, and almost byzantine twists there-in.

Of the two stories, The Big Sleep struck me as the better of the pair both in terms of plot and presentation. I was a bit skeptical for much of Farewell My Lovely, as he seemed to be using a lot of "coincidence" to move things along -- something of a pet peev of mine -- but to my surprise he was able to tie it all together at the end in a fairly satisfactory manner. A calling card of HBDF is the slang and lingo, and there's plenty of it here, and quite often it made me chuckle.

These are interesting little time capsules of 1930s L.A. Modern readers with modern "politically correct" sensibilities should probably be warned that the books (especially Farewell) contain a good deal of un-PC sentiment: there are multiple racial stereotypes, N-bombs, and even a fair amount of misogyny. How much of this is Chandler's own view and how much is his imitation of contemporary culture I don't know, nor do I especially care. Others might not be so forgiving, so you have been cautioned.

This is worth getting for The Big Sleep alone, but Farewell My Lovely is a decent companion piece. I wouldn't want a steady diet of this type of reading, but it certainly piqued my interest enough that I will come back for more.

"It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars."

- Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep

And thus began the criteria for what a private eye would look like and what his moral code would be. Raymond Chandler, author of the Philip Marlowe series of crime novels, set the bar high and generations would follow in his writing footsteps. The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely are two selections from this series and are found in this Modern Library edition. Both the Modern Library edition (which contains two of the Marlowe novels) and The Everyman's Library Edition (which contains three selections) are great buys. Both are hardcover and include more than one novel. The paperback version of THE BIG SLEEP is $10.36 for one.

For those of you who are new to Raymond Chandler, he is considered to be one of the most influential writers of crime fiction and his phenomenal creation of the detective Philip Marlowe has survived decades.

Every time a modern reader discovers a new private eye who is facing some interesting and very tough times but is able to do it with integrity and a strict moral code alongwith a "soldier's eye"; you are meeting Raymond Chandler the writer all over again. And Philip Marlowe his creation is playing a pivotal role in the background.

Raymond Chandler wrote seven detective novels but THE BIG SLEEP is probably his best. Farewell, My Lovely is a close second. He was in his fifties when he wrote these novels yet they have become an American landmark in the hard-boiled detective genre and would really launch Chandler into the icon that he is today.

The reader will discover a unified theme with strong and fully developed characters with incredible imagery and metaphors. Chandler's literary style is distinctive and very crisp. You will love these stories. If you are new to hard-boiled detective stories, this edition might be one that I would start with

In The Big Sleep, you will be introduced to the Sternwoods: General Sternwood, Vivian and Carmen and all three are interesting studies and all three as General Sternwood notes have not "any more moral sense than a cat." General Sternwood is on his deathbed and hired Philip Marlowe to check out why he was being blackmailed by one Arthur Gwynn Geiger. His two daughters, Vivian and Carmen, are quite a handful but General Sternwood feels in part responsible for his plight. As he tells Marlow, "I need not add that a man who indulges in parenthood for the first time at the age of fifty-four deserves all he gets." He describes his two daughters as being "spoiled, exacting, smart and ruthless with the younger girl as being the type who likes to pull wings off flies".

Chandler's novels do highlight crooks and morally-corrupt characters and derelicts, but they are counter-balanced by Marlowe, Bernie Ohls, and General Sternwood--all of whom possess a strong sense of honor, a consideration of what is proper and are for the most part trying to live a life above board.

FAREWELL, MY LOVELY is also set in Los Angeles. You will discover a focus on one of the deadly sins in all of the Chandler's genre. In the case of FML, the focus is on gambling. Chandler's novels always has its share of women loaded with sin and this is no exception. To top it off, Marlowe is continually dealing with derelicts and dirtbag characters galore.

There are numerous murders that take place and a tight interwoven plot which will keep you on the edge of your seat until you get to the last page.

Just as a sidebar, THE BIG SLEEP was published in 1939 there was only an advance of 5,000 copies by Alfred A. Knopf. However, Knopf knew the power and the contribution that this novel would make. They actually took out an advertisement for this book on the front cover of the Publisher's Weekly which was most unusual for a novelist's first book.

The dust jacket flaps read:

"Not since Dashiell Hammett appeared has there been a murder mystery story with the power, pace, and terrifying atmosphere of this one. And like Hammett's this is more than a "murder mystery": it is a novel of crime and character, written with uncommon skill in a tight, tense style which is irresistible."

And so it was. I would highly recommend reading these crime novels and being introduced to Philip Marlowe. THE BIG SLEEP was made into a movie starring Bogart and Bacall with the screen play being written by William Faulkner no less.

Don't miss these. I almost did.

Rating: A

Bentley/October 2007


The Big Sleep & Farewell, My Lovely (Modern Library)

Raymond Chandler, the author, is the definitive writer of the detective genre. His wise-cracking, earthy detective Philip Marlowe constantly sticks his nose into dangerous places, sometimes catching the far end of a swinging fist for his troubles. And trouble is a euphemism for his working life. His books led to the creation of several famous films with Humphrey Bogart playing Marlowe. But having seen the movies, there is no comparison to the quality of Chandler's original prose.

Here are a few witty samples full of imagery from his books:
"I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it."
"I was as empty of life as a scarecrow's pockets."
"... he looked as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food."
"He looked as nervous as a brick wall."

Chandler's stories move fast and contain a lot of action, just like his protagonist. Marlowe's character is a bit of a blue-collar cynic, an occasional ladies' man, a rebel, and a steadfast (but sometimes puzzlingly) honest man. Marlowe is just an average guy who just happens to solve cases involving the rich and beautiful (and their dirty little secrets) in mid-twentieth century LA. And I suppose Marlowe's fast-talking, action-oriented character is one most of us average guys could identify with, which accounts for the success of his books.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book - I don't usually like reading fiction - and highly recommend it. Chandler really is a pleasure to read. Why couldn't we have read something like this just once in my high school English lit classes!?

You don't have to love Los Angeles in its golden era of the 40's and 50's, but it sure helps as Chandler barrels his way through non-stop plots filled with twists and turns that make Mulholland Drive look like a country lane through old Pasadena. None of the films ever equalled the vibrancy of the printed word from this mystery master's old Remington. The tough cops on Chandler's Los Angeles Police force make wimps out of today's version of the same. Then there's the women -- all character and rarely moral -- but each will fascinate. These are the landmark works of the author and the genre. Read 'em and wish for a time machine! Phill Catheral

Glad to see Raymond Chandler in a new edition, he's one of the best. His writing crackles. It's witty and poetic, a joy to read and re-read. Nothing like him has come out in the last forty years, except a part-spoof, part-serious leap into the 'hardboiled' genre called A Manual Of Etiquette For Ladies Crossing Canada By Train, handsome detective and gorgeous perp, brilliant language, on a transcontinental Canadian train, downing drinks in the club car. Hope more young writers take their lessons from Chandler. Marlowe is one of the great 20th century creations.

I've always believed that Chandler was one of the great prose stylists of the 20th century. Read these two novels and try to disagree with me.

Chandler provides an unforgetable picture of L.A. and his private eye, Phillip Marlowe. The "Big Sleep" (his first novel) has an intricate plot, perhaps with loose ends; like real life, not like a nice neat English murder mystery. The star of the story is the narrative, not the plot. Chandler's L.A. is littered with tough cops, pornography, drugs, gambling and sex. The only "hero" is Phillip Marlowe, who is following his own code of behavior-not always society's.

Chandler was an enormous source of reading pleasure for me and a strong influence when I stumbled across him lo many years ago at around age 14 in the early '60s. Despite my youth, the gritty action, a hero with flexible morals and a somewhat degenerate plot direction (for that time) I survived the ordeal to become a citizen of at least normal character although I still sometimes call the dames "toots" and recover from head wounds by drinking 6-8 oz of cheap whiskey accompanied by an unfiltered cigarette. These novels present a time and place experienced by a rapidly dwindling number of Americans and though I never experienced it first hand, I have to say it evokes late '30s LA in a realistic and compelling fashion. I would imagine that it is no more typical of ordinary contemporary life than Dickens' tales represent main stream mid-19th century Brits yet we look to his novels to conjure up a forceful image of that even more remote time. Besides, no one would read a novel where everyone just went to the office five days a week then mowed the grass followed by going to see "Pirates of the Caribbean" at the cineplex on the weekend!

"The Big Sleep" was made into an excellent film noir spotlighting a redhot pairing of Bogart and Bacall just prior to their marriage. Bacall absolutely oozed sexuality. William Faulkner wrote/cooperated on the script. "The Big Sleep" should be READ AND VIEWED because both book and movie are excellent examples of the genre. There never was (in my opinion) a decent movie made from "Farewell My Lovely" though Hollywood made several attempts. Robert Mitchum starred in later cinema versions of both novels but while I normally liked his acting a lot, his performance in these films was a mere candle flicker to Bogart's powerful searchlight. His version of "The Big Sleep" was even transplanted to ENGLAND apparently because in the '70s, Brits were all the rage (??Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. ??).

These are both excellent books with unpredictable plots and I recommend them to anyone wanting to experience the richness of our culture beyond the gadget driven drabness of 21st century USA.