Raymond Chandler
1940
Around 360 pages
I always have fun with this genre of novel, and something tells me this is going to be one of the few novels of this era that doesn't concern World War II, so we should enjoy it. On the other hand, 360 pages for a story this convoluted is pushing it.
Phillip Marlowe is investigating a missing person's case in a nightclub when Moose Malloy barges in. With a name like Moose, this character never had a shot at a normal life. He is looking for his ex girlfriend Velma, and ends up killing the black owner of the club and escaping. The police aren't overly concerned about following up on the murder of a black man, because the world is a nightmare. Marlowe cares enough to follow up on the case, so you can guarantee somebody's going to get hit in the head with a blackjack.
Raymond Chandler takes things just a tad farther than your Dashiell Hammetts, for example. There's more of an edge and graver social commentary. He really puts Phillip through the ringer with this one.
I think we have reached the end of an era here. I don't see another hard-boiled detective story on the horizon. I'll miss these novels, they have a dark levity that always served as a welcome reprieve from some of the doorstoppers on this List.
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
Chandler worked on the book from June to December 1939, before destroying the entire manuscript and starting over. He finished the novel in the spring of 1940. Been there my friend.
As he did with Big Sleep, Chandler came up with this book by combining his previous short stories.
UP NEXT: The Hamlet by William Faulkner
No comments:
Post a Comment