The Big Sleep

Rating:
Summary: A rollercoaster ride of a plot
Review: "The Big Sleep" opens with private eye Philip Marlowe being summoned to the expansive estate of the aged and wealthy General Sternwood. Sternwood hires Marlowe to investigate a blackmailer who has been involving Sternwood's wildly misbehaving younger daughter in some embarrassing indiscretions. Marlowe's trail leads him through a labyrinth of murder and deceit, and it is impossible for the reader to guess the real story behind Sternwood's daughter's trouble until Marlowe analyzes and reveals the scheme at the end of the book.

As he explains in his essay "The Simple Art of Murder," Raymond Chandler disdained the linear "whodunit" style of mystery and set about to turn the genre upside down with this, his first Marlowe novel. Chandler's style of designing a complex plot and inserting the detective somewhere in the middle to put the pieces together was to be a big influence on many crime writers to follow and particularly on a TV show like "The Rockford Files." (Jim Rockford was not unlike a '70s version of Marlowe, and many of the episodes featured similarly complex plot structures.) While some of Chandler's dialogue, situations, and props may seem a bit dated, his mindbending plot concept seems as fresh and exciting today as it must have sixty years ago.

Rating:
Summary: Just as incomparable as the movie
Review: If you enjoyed the indispensable Bogey & Bacall classic movie by the same name, you will undoubtedly enjoy this masterfully pinned classic novel. What makes this novel worth reading even after having seen the flick are the both subtle and striking divergences amongst the two art forms.

For starters, the book is infinitely more juicier than the movie in terms of sheer debauchery and scathing wisecracks. Secondly, Carmen is much more central in the book than in the movie -- not to mention the conspicuous absence of Eddie Mars' wife in the movie. As a bonus, you get to hear "You're cute" uttered by the temptress many more times in the book. Moreover, a pivotal scene at the end is omitted at the end of the movie that will irretrievably change your outlook on the movie's conclusion.

Vivian: Why did you have to go on?

Marlowe: Too many people told me to stop.


Rating:
Summary: Master of simile and cynicism
Review: I picked up The Big Sleep after the author of one of my favorite new authors of last year, Richard K. Morgan, was compared left and right to Raymond Chandler. The comparison was apt, and Morgan should be flattered, because Chandler is a genius.

This book is Chandler's first and it introduces his hero, Philip Marlowe, a smart-mouthed, hard-boiled private dick who is straight as an arrow. The mystery is a wonderful tale, but what makes this book great is the noir writing. The characters are all cynical and full of wonderful 1930's slang. The first person narrative is also laden with delicious similes: "I was as empty of life as a scarecrow's pockets."

Five stars for Chandler and this wonderful book.

Rating:
Summary: Genre Defining Classic
Review: The first book of Chandler's Philip Marlowe series is an especially interesting read for those who've seen the classic film with Bogey and Bacall. The film is actually a fairly faithful adaptation of the book, with all references to pornography removed. This is odd, because the story is about blackmail and pornography. Cinemaphiles will read the book and at key points think "oh, that's what it was about."

Be warned: when you start reading Chandler, you're going to read two or three in a row.

Rating:
Summary: Not to be missed.
Review: Originally published in 1939, The Big Sleep is the first novel to feature fiction's legendary private eye, Philip Marlowe. The book starts off with Marlowe visiting the majestic estate of dying millionaire, General Guy Sternwood. As the General hires Marlowe to investigate a bookdealer who is extorting him for one thousand dollars, he happens to mention that he sorely misses the company of his son-in-law, an ex-bootlegger, who has inexplicably disappeared. A very fast paced and eventful search for the truth ensues, during which Marlowe encounters many colorful characters. Topping the list are the two wild Sternwood daughters, Carmen and Vivian.
The Big Sleep contains subject matter considered racy by 1939 standards. Specifically, pornography and homosexuality both play key roles in advancing the story. Chandler's writing is no less than masterful. The dialogue snaps, the descriptive passages are vivid and the complex plot comes together at the end.
There are really two main characters, Marlowe himself and the city of Los Angeles. Marlowe is a loner and if he is not an alcoholic, he could easily be mistaken for one. Always ready with withering put downs, he is a world class cynic who paradoxically adheres to a high minded code of honor. Los Angeles is portrayed as a dreary place, often rain soaked and in the throes of serious growing pains. The claustraphobic, shattered lives of many of its inhabitants made all the more grotesque by the coexisting wealth and glamor.
The Big Sleep has earned its reputation as an American classic and definitely qualifies as a must read.

Rating:
Summary: What is the point?
Review: This is the place to start if you like noir writing. If you like Parker, MacDonald, Connelly, or Burke, this is the book will be for you. Warning that it is a little hard to read, and may take awhile to get into it. The story will confuse and befuddle, but it is ultimately rewarding. The great thing about it is not only do you enjoy reading a great story, but you get a glimpse into a Los Angles of the past and a different cultural era. The darkside of the glamour city. Must read and the place to start for a study of noir mystery.