Pretty near perfect. Certainly worthy of being reprinted so many times, in so many languages, with so many interesting covers. And as far as the murderer of Terry Lennox ... he had me until the end.

Of course, there's the dialogue, especially Marlowe with these ice cool blondes. I could only imagine Bogart in the role (Elliot Gould? God help us). And I'm not sure that in a blind reading test I could pick Hammett from Chandler. But maybe: despite the ping pong dialogue, Chandler does have a habit of throwing in superfluous adverbs. How else can someone read a newspaper alone in a restaurant booth but "quietly." And these women speaking "gravely" and so on.

My biggest reservation, though, concerns the initial meeting with Lennox and why Marlowe carted the guy home. I mean, why? It may well work in the movie, but Lennox isn't particularly charming. Well, Lennox must remind Marlowe of something or someone from his past. I kept thinking we were going to get a few more hints of that, but it never came.

The 1950s. Or 1950s LA noir: so much drinking! And the discreet sex scene. ( )

Great, fun, fun, and great!

I can't say anything about that hasn't already been said better by someone else. His style is brilliant, his plots are tight, and he's a joy to read.That being said, I can't help but think he's got some serious pent-up hostility toward blondes. ( )

Immediately after finishing the Big Sleep, I went straight on to listen to this. I was disappointed in the story actually. Yes, there was Marlowe and, as before, he was hard and cynical and cool. But this novel(la?) just didn’t catch me up in its world as much as Sleep had done. Perhaps I was used to it by then.

The plot’s not as convoluted as Sleep but it does have its own twists with the, now, inevitable secrets coming to light. I won’t spoil it for anyone planning to read it. There are still great lines from Marlowe. Not as many as in Sleep but still some amazing similes in particular (see quotes below).

Reading the first Marlowe novel and then the last immediately after it, I was struck with the contrast in his attitudes and relationship across the books which made me reflect again on Chandler’s genius. There’s much more of a contempt for so-called law enforcement, much more a hatred of everything that makes California society what it is known for. And I wonder if this is what Chandler experienced in real life.

Whatever its inspiration, the progress of character development in Marlowe from Sleep to Goodbye is excellent and I’m glad I read it to at least see that. ( )

This was my first Chandler book. I was often tempted to put it aside and read something else, but I stayed with it to the end. I am left with mixed feelings. The Philip Marlowe character somehow eludes me. I can't understand the guy. His standards for accepting fees for the work her performs are so high that he always refuses payment. How does the guy survive? There is only one client in the book who is acceptably ethical to Marlowe, and he charges this client $20 and leaves it as a tip to a bartender. Any client who has the slightest character flaw encounters Marlowe's disdain, and has his money returned.
There was dialogue I truly enjoyed, the plot was interesting, and there are many good things to be said of the book. I guess I have to read more Chandler; but I won't right away.
The paperback I read was published by Pocket Books in 1964. The cover artwork is better than any of the covers shown here, in my opinion, but no credit is given in the book to the artist. ( )