The Big Sleep

I’d be lying if I said this was a perfect and cleverly plotted book, because it isn’t and the disjointed feel from being a “fixer up” from other stories is quite noticeable. But that isn’t why the book is such a great classic piece of American literature.

The descriptions of places, people and objects drip with colour and atmosphere. The dialogue - despite the raw colloquialisms - is snappy. And most of all, Marlowe himself is a character who remains consistently ahead of the game throughout. Far too often in writing, protagonists are written to act stupidly just to advance the plot, but Marlowe stays true with his laconic delivery and intelligent thinking. Take out the rampant sexism and homophobia and you have the template show more for a lead any budding writer can follow. The cast of other characters all have traits which are equally consistent, yet morally complex - making them all engaging from their first appearance.

Yes the story is a mess and not everything is neatly wrapped up; Chandler himself apparently didn’t care about that and since everything else is so wonderfully crafted, it’s hard not to just be pulled along and enjoy the rainswept ride. show less

This book is tricky to review.

The plot is overly complicated, torturous and completely baffling. If you ever solve one of Chandler's mysteries I think you deserve a doctorate.

I don't like Philip Marlowe, who is, by all accounts, one of the most notorious private investigators - the kind everyone else copied after these books were published. I don't like Philip Marlowe because he's a racist, sexist, homophobic pig of a man who knows of all his faults and refuses to do anything to change them.

The one thing that made me feel ill and uncomfortable (and this is a trigger warning) about halfway through the book there's an incredibly homophobic scene where Marlowe beats a guy until he's unconscious, purely for being gay. So, be careful of show more that. You can skip that scene, if you like. Do whatever you need to do. Whether it's the character or the writer, or in-character or out of it, whether it has a context or not, whether there's a point to be made, I will never be okay with homophobia that brutal and raw in a book ever.

... and yet the writing, some of the lines in this book are some of the best I have ever read. Some of the lines in this book capture something so vivid and so real I feel it in my bones.

So is it worth suffering through Marlowe's complete and utter clusterfuck of a case to read those lines? I think so.

... But it will definitely be a while before I read another Chandler again. Maybe a long time. Maybe I'll go read some really feminist books first. show less

Trashy, but undeniably well-written. The character of Marlowe here is striking - he's miles ahead of the game, sharp as a razor, physically indomitable and honourable and honest to round it off. Whereas Bogart brings a weary kind of seediness to the character on screen, here it's the world which is sleazy and flawed more than our virtuoso, though he needs plenty of whisky to help him negotiate it. Chandler knows how to set and maintain the pace as well. Dull passages are rare, and the description has a poetry to it at times, though at others the language almost overflows. The ending is strong, and apt for a book that can count restraint among its qualities.

It’s a shame because there is some absolutely wonderful writing here. But the thoroughgoing distaste for women (as well as gay men) simply drips off the page, like the condensation on a cold glass of … whatever hard boiled detectives that hate women drink.

At the end, Marlowe’s put-upon self justification, his martyrdom, will sound very familiar in this age of white male martyrdom and self pity; in that respect, Marlowe is less of a relic of an era many of us had hoped was bygone, than a harbinger of what has come back and seems on course to flourish further. I hope, but do not expect, the day he and these attitudes are a relic again comes soon.

My interest in The Big Sleep spawned from my love of the Coen brothers’ loose adaptation of it, The Big Lebowski. I'm sure I'm not alone in using that as a frame of reference for picking up Chandler's work, and though I want to focus much of this review on The Big Sleep, I'd be remiss not to spend a little time collecting my thoughts on the comparison between the book and the film. I absolutely love their interpretation of Marlowe, turning the unflappable and dryly sarcastic ladies' man into an unwitting, unintentionally funny bum who is deluded into thinking he's still got it. Both Marlowe and the Dude are, underneath their exteriors, ethical people in some way, which helps our ability to empathize with them despite their show more eccentricities. I love the sense of humor consistent throughout the book; it's no wonder that the Coen brothers were drawn to it in the first place. Police are treated much the same as well: condescending, unhelpful, or both. Both Marlowe and the Dude find themselves caught amid a growing web of characters who all look to use them for their own undisclosed personal gain. That tension is really palpable, creating drama that drew me in from the opening scene to the conclusion.

The Big Sleep really shines in its evocation of 1930s back-alley Los Angeles. Dirty and damp sidewalks, smoke-filled parlors, the tense interior of a cramped car waiting for someone to appear, dingy apartment building hallways filled with mildew and refuse; the places that Marlowe prowls feel tangible. The spell that Chandler casts to make you feel as if you're really right there with Marlowe wears off easily, though. This is the type of book best read all at once, in no small part due to its confusing narrative and numerous plot holes. I lost track of these threads easily and found it a struggle to pick them back up again if I stopped reading for more than an hour.

Many people complain about the lack of resolution, that the narrative doesn't really amount to anything in the end. While I agree with that conclusion, it's that sense of hopelessness and ambiguity that I found myself enjoying, perfectly matched to the dreary setting and atmosphere. Chandler's Los Angeles is a city beset by murder, gambling, racketeering, and illicit sex. How could a 'satisfying' ending feel right in this context?

What I didn’t enjoy are the clearly dated sensibilities that litter the text: condescending, womanizing, and smarmy male figures; offhanded homophobia; casual misogyny. Certainly, it's a product of its time, and if that sort of stuff makes something unreadable for you, then this is a safe skip. For all of its sore points, though, The Big Sleep is really fast-paced, with something always happening to keep you off balance. Chandler writes assuming the reader is competent, smart enough to understand subtext. A nice amount of subtlety and unspoken actions, emotions, and tones made it fun and engaging to read.

Out of my limited experience with crime fiction, Chandler is definitely a step above the rest, though I'm still not convinced this stuff is exactly my cup of tea. show less

Dames! Gangsters! Banter! Crime! We all know what to expect from a hard-boiled detective novel and this is one of the novels that set the rules for the genre. Author Raymond Chandler began his career writing short stories for pulp magazines and then moved on to writing books, all about his private eye, Phillip Marlowe. Marlowe is a loner with a love of banter, a misogynist with white knight syndrome, a guy who doesn't carry a gun but knows how to throw a punch (and take one). The story is a little muddy, with lots of different criminal groups with complicated relationships, but the point of this book isn't the plot, but how fun it is to watch Marlowe do his thing. There are a few striking pictures of life in Los Angeles during the show more Depression, with some people living in luxury, others scrambling to find a few bucks and others living in back staircases or alleyways.

It's fun to think of a book written as a pulp novel, not intended to be more than a fun, escapist read, has endured and become a classic. Of course, it's still a fun read. show less

I read a review that said this book is more informative than straight-up enjoyable and I have to agree. It's really strange reading THE book that inspired all things noir, remembering that these tropes weren't tropes at all because this was the first. The perspective is interesting, mostly because it's first person but it is so cold and objective. You never really know what Marlowe is thinking and can only judge him based on what he does. This is interesting and certainly makes the reader work a little harder to understand motives and leaps in the story/logic.

It was a little jarring reading a novel that was so openly homophobic and sexist too. Marlowe slaps a "dame" a few times to snap her out of whatever and made it seem like it was show more totally normal and necessary. There are a few references to "faggots" as well. Honestly, this is all a reflection of the time that it was written in. It's like reading a relic from the past, a time capsule if you will.

Marlowe isn't really that likable to be honest, but I think that's the point. I've read one of the Bosch novels and watch the show and it reminded me of Bosch in a lot of ways. It's cool to see the parallels and how this book inspired a genre that I love today, especially in movies and television shows.

Overall, a good read. Not my favorite and not super interesting, but the historical aspect alone is enough to add this to your reading list. show less