The Simple Art of Murder (1950)

I enjoyed this, particularly the essay: Chandler doesn't really spare anyone, but I rather like that.

On the other hand, I didn't feel blown away by the prose, in this one. Maybe it's that the short stories aren't Chandler's form, maybe it's just that I'm bundled up in the cognitive cotton wool of a cold and the cough suppressants. There's just something same-y about them, and the freshness and sharpness of the prose from, say, The Big Sleep, doesn't seem quite as much in evidence. ( )

Four great mysteries and a wonderful essay on mystery writing by Raymond Chandler. Pearls are a Nuisance,, the last story is great. It's humorous and mysterious and literary...a tough combination in my book. ( )

Raymond Chandler's The Simple Art of Murder is a collection of short stories that he submitted over the years to pulp magazines and is prefaced with an essay he wrote for the Atlantic Monthly about mystery and detective stories. Almost all of the stories are "private eye" tales that take place in the Los Angeles area. They are chock-full of seedy musicians, sly broads, crooked cops and indecipherable slang -- and guns ... lots and lots of guns. Any reader would be hard-pressed to find a truly honest or wholesome character in one of these stories.

However, one story stood out -- Pearls Are a Nuisance -- in that the main character is quite different from any other of Chandler's creations. Walter Gage is an upstanding if somewhat trust-fundish citizen with an upper-crust vocabulary and a trusting nature. This is the one story with a true twist and a bit of heart and, frankly, the only one without a murder.

http://webereading.com/2009/11/simple-art-of-short-detective-stories.html ( )

A collection of hard-boiled private eye stories. Even if one of the characters in a story says this: "You think you're hard-boiled but you're just a big slob that argues himself into a jam for the first tramp he finds in trouble." Guns at Cyrano's has the best lines, for sure.

The collection starts with Chandler's essay about crime fiction, which gives the book its title.

Simple Art Of Murder : Spanish Blood - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : I'll Be Waiting - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : The King in Yellow - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : Pearls Are a Nuisance - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : Smart-Aleck Kill - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : Guns at Cyrano's - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : Pickup on Noon Street - Raymond Chandler
Simple Art Of Murder : Nevada Gas - Raymond Chandler

Joe and Max Chil, chilled, its politics with a dead deer.

3.5 out of 5

"I could maybe give nine guesses. And twelve of them would be right."

3.5 out of 5

Muso sister suicide revenge.

4 out of 5

Gem theft sucker.

3 out of 5

Dope smuggling shootout.

3.5 out of 5

Sister act revenge.

4 out of 5

Token Ware choker.

3.5 out of 5

Croupier scam snatch.

3 out of 5

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/01/simple-art-of-murder-raymond-chandler.html ( )

Muso sister suicide revenge.

http://raymondchandler.bravehost.com/Chandler, Raymond - The King In Yellow.html

http://freesf.blogspot.com/2010/01/king-in-yellow-raymond-chandler.html ( )