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Philip Marlowe #1-4
The Raymond Chandler Omnibus
A Raymond Chandler omnibus containing the first four Philip Marlowe novels. These novels include The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, The High Window, and The Lady in the Lake.
693 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1943
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About the author
Raymond Chandler
448 books5,627 followersRaymond Thornton Chandler was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Great Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth, in progress at the time of his death, was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some more than once. In the year before his death, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.
Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is a founder of the hardboiled school of detective fiction, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and other Black Mask writers. The protagonist of his novels, Philip Marlowe, like Hammett's Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with "private detective". Both were played in films by Humphrey Bogart, whom many consider to be the quintessential Marlowe.
The Big Sleep placed second on the Crime Writers Association poll of the 100 best crime novels; Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Lady in the Lake (1943) and The Long Goodbye (1953) also made the list. The latter novel was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as "arguably the first book since Hammett's The Glass Key, published more than twenty years earlier, to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery". Chandler was also a perceptive critic of detective fiction; his "The Simple Art of Murder" is the canonical essay in the field. In it he wrote: "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world."
Parker wrote that, with Marlowe, "Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious—an innocent who knows better, a Romantic who is tough enough to sustain Romanticism in a world that has seen the eternal footman hold its coat and snicker. Living at the end of the Far West, where the American dream ran out of room, no hero has ever been more congruent with his landscape. Chandler had the right hero in the right place, and engaged him in the consideration of good and evil at precisely the time when our central certainty of good no longer held."
Chandler had an immense stylistic influence on American popular literature. He is a founder of the hardboiled school of detective fiction, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and other Black Mask writers. The protagonist of his novels, Philip Marlowe, like Hammett's Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with "private detective". Both were played in films by Humphrey Bogart, whom many consider to be the quintessential Marlowe.
The Big Sleep placed second on the Crime Writers Association poll of the 100 best crime novels; Farewell, My Lovely (1940), The Lady in the Lake (1943) and The Long Goodbye (1953) also made the list. The latter novel was praised in an anthology of American crime stories as "arguably the first book since Hammett's The Glass Key, published more than twenty years earlier, to qualify as a serious and significant mainstream novel that just happened to possess elements of mystery". Chandler was also a perceptive critic of detective fiction; his "The Simple Art of Murder" is the canonical essay in the field. In it he wrote: "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. The detective must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world."
Parker wrote that, with Marlowe, "Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious—an innocent who knows better, a Romantic who is tough enough to sustain Romanticism in a world that has seen the eternal footman hold its coat and snicker. Living at the end of the Far West, where the American dream ran out of room, no hero has ever been more congruent with his landscape. Chandler had the right hero in the right place, and engaged him in the consideration of good and evil at precisely the time when our central certainty of good no longer held."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 13, 2025
This book, (together with The Midnight Raymond Chandler) was my initial introduction to the brilliant writing of Raymond Chandler, back around 1990 or so. Up to that point I hadn’t really been interested in crime or mystery fiction, but I was very much into outsider, countercultural writer Robert Anton Wilson, who raved about Chandler’s writing in a couple of his books. So when I saw this book and its companion volume in a used bookstore, I grabbed them up.
And Wow! was I impressed! Chandler’s plots were ridiculous and convoluted when they were there at all. His characters were straight out of the genre stock closet. The stories all had too many bodies and too pat wrap-ups to seem realistic. But none of that mattered. Chandler took stock characters and made them fascinating and memorable. His hard boiled dialogue mesmerized. His power to create atmosphere and paint distinctive word portraits was unparalleled. His ability to effectively create mood was almost eldritch in its uncanniness. What I discovered in these genre crime stories was a literary giant — a 20th century noir Shakespeare, whose work was all the more impressive because he was constrained within the conventions of the genre.
The Raymond Chandler Omnibus includes Chandler’s first four, short novels of Philip Marlowe, private eye. As I’ve reviewed these books individually elsewhere on Goodreads, here I’ve just included a few quote from each to give a taste. Read these books here, or read them individually, but either way, do yourself a favor and read them.
The Big Sleep
”Dead men are heavier than broken hearts.”
”Neither of the two people in the room payed any attention to the way I came in, although only one of them was dead.”
Farewell, My Lovely
”It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window.”
”I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat, and a gun.”
”He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.”
The High Window
”From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.”
”She had a lot of face and chin. She had pewter-colored hair set in a ruthless permanent, a hard beak, and moist eyes with the sympathetic expression of wet stones.”
The Lady in the Lake
”The self operating elevator had an elderly perfume in it like three widows drinking tea.”
”The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips.”
”Everything was quiet and sunny and calm. No cause for excitement whatsoever. It’s only Marlowe finding another body. He does it rather well by now. Murder-a-day Marlowe they call him. They have the meat wagon following him around to follow up on the business he finds.”
And Wow! was I impressed! Chandler’s plots were ridiculous and convoluted when they were there at all. His characters were straight out of the genre stock closet. The stories all had too many bodies and too pat wrap-ups to seem realistic. But none of that mattered. Chandler took stock characters and made them fascinating and memorable. His hard boiled dialogue mesmerized. His power to create atmosphere and paint distinctive word portraits was unparalleled. His ability to effectively create mood was almost eldritch in its uncanniness. What I discovered in these genre crime stories was a literary giant — a 20th century noir Shakespeare, whose work was all the more impressive because he was constrained within the conventions of the genre.
The Raymond Chandler Omnibus includes Chandler’s first four, short novels of Philip Marlowe, private eye. As I’ve reviewed these books individually elsewhere on Goodreads, here I’ve just included a few quote from each to give a taste. Read these books here, or read them individually, but either way, do yourself a favor and read them.
The Big Sleep
”Dead men are heavier than broken hearts.”
”Neither of the two people in the room payed any attention to the way I came in, although only one of them was dead.”
Farewell, My Lovely
”It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window.”
”I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat, and a gun.”
”He looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.”
The High Window
”From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.”
”She had a lot of face and chin. She had pewter-colored hair set in a ruthless permanent, a hard beak, and moist eyes with the sympathetic expression of wet stones.”
The Lady in the Lake
”The self operating elevator had an elderly perfume in it like three widows drinking tea.”
”The minutes went by on tiptoe, with their fingers to their lips.”
”Everything was quiet and sunny and calm. No cause for excitement whatsoever. It’s only Marlowe finding another body. He does it rather well by now. Murder-a-day Marlowe they call him. They have the meat wagon following him around to follow up on the business he finds.”
March 17, 2013
I don't have a lot of experience with early detective fiction in the hard-boiled or noir vein so this was something different for me. I enjoyed all these novels to varying degrees. One of the things that was fun and added to the mystery and puzzle of the stories was the old slang and analogies used in the descriptions and wisecracks -- "She gave me a smile I could feel in my hip pocket" "She had eyes like strange sins" "women who should be young but have faces like stale beer" -- it gave a whole other aspect to the stories that was somehow exotic and old fashioned while still being familiar and edgy.
THE BIG SLEEP
Originally published in 1939, 155 pages long. If you've seen the classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart then you will be very familiar with this story, the movie closely follows the book. For my tastes this one comes across as a little too much of a good thing, as though the author were showing off, trying to stuff as many twists and turns as he could get into the plot while simultaneously trying to elevate it to a higher quality literature than the pulp novel standards of the time. I'm not knocking pulp novels - I'm saying I got the impression that perhaps Chandler was slightly embarrassed to be writing "just pulp" or was interested in doing something more with it than what had been done previously and, as a result, he pulled out all the stops and threw everything he had into this one whether it fit or not. There is a lot of style that overrides the substance of the overall story.
FAREWELL, MY LOVELY
Originally published in 1940, 190 pages long. This one is probably my least favorite of the four novels in this collection. I found the plot a little hard to follow and with less of the flair (which I just criticized above) of The Big Sleep it came across as a lesser effort on Chandler's part. As if he were still refining his style and this was a combination of his earliest style and the later style he would settle into (at least as far as the next two novels go). Not bad but not as good as the others.
THE HIGH WINDOW
Originally published in 1942, 165 pages long. A good basic crime novel that still has all the wisecracking and plot twists but the style has settled down a little so that there is an equal amount of substance to go along with it.
THE LADY IN THE LAKE
Originally published in 1943, 172 pages long. I think this was my favorite of the collection. One of the things I found most interesting about this novel was the occasional references to the ongoing war (World War II), it never focused too much on the war itself but there was always the understanding that it was going on and these people were living their lives in spite of it. There was no false patriotism or over-dramatic propaganda, these weren't those kind of people, they were probably not out collecting for the Red Cross or doing volunteer work, that wasn't the world they lived in.
All these novels have aspects that would later become the standards of the genre so it's hard to judge them as the originators that they were at the time they were initially written. If you're a fan of crime fiction then you probably won't be disappointed with these, although they are a little less explicit than contemporary works they are still edgy... or should I say hard-boiled?
THE BIG SLEEP
Originally published in 1939, 155 pages long. If you've seen the classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart then you will be very familiar with this story, the movie closely follows the book. For my tastes this one comes across as a little too much of a good thing, as though the author were showing off, trying to stuff as many twists and turns as he could get into the plot while simultaneously trying to elevate it to a higher quality literature than the pulp novel standards of the time. I'm not knocking pulp novels - I'm saying I got the impression that perhaps Chandler was slightly embarrassed to be writing "just pulp" or was interested in doing something more with it than what had been done previously and, as a result, he pulled out all the stops and threw everything he had into this one whether it fit or not. There is a lot of style that overrides the substance of the overall story.
FAREWELL, MY LOVELY
Originally published in 1940, 190 pages long. This one is probably my least favorite of the four novels in this collection. I found the plot a little hard to follow and with less of the flair (which I just criticized above) of The Big Sleep it came across as a lesser effort on Chandler's part. As if he were still refining his style and this was a combination of his earliest style and the later style he would settle into (at least as far as the next two novels go). Not bad but not as good as the others.
THE HIGH WINDOW
Originally published in 1942, 165 pages long. A good basic crime novel that still has all the wisecracking and plot twists but the style has settled down a little so that there is an equal amount of substance to go along with it.
THE LADY IN THE LAKE
Originally published in 1943, 172 pages long. I think this was my favorite of the collection. One of the things I found most interesting about this novel was the occasional references to the ongoing war (World War II), it never focused too much on the war itself but there was always the understanding that it was going on and these people were living their lives in spite of it. There was no false patriotism or over-dramatic propaganda, these weren't those kind of people, they were probably not out collecting for the Red Cross or doing volunteer work, that wasn't the world they lived in.
All these novels have aspects that would later become the standards of the genre so it's hard to judge them as the originators that they were at the time they were initially written. If you're a fan of crime fiction then you probably won't be disappointed with these, although they are a little less explicit than contemporary works they are still edgy... or should I say hard-boiled?
November 6, 2021
The Big Sleep: 3.5 Stars
It's not a book that would be taught at a normal school. A film school, however...
The Philip Marlowe character was Hollywood's obsession in the 30's and 40's. When a film buff thinks of Crime Noir, the first character name he will unload is: Philip Marlowe. And with good reason, too, as I couldn't help but picture the scenes in the book with a black and white filter. It has a lot of great dark imagery of an area of California that somehow never sees the sun.
The Big Sleep is a quick and fun read, but with a mostly forgettable plotline. That being said, the whole time I was reading I was thinking to myself, 'Why don't I read more Crime Noir?' It was a good Crime Noir, but not the best. I thought of it as an ambiance read--that is, it would be best digested with a bourbon and a pipe.
It's not a book that would be taught at a normal school. A film school, however...
The Philip Marlowe character was Hollywood's obsession in the 30's and 40's. When a film buff thinks of Crime Noir, the first character name he will unload is: Philip Marlowe. And with good reason, too, as I couldn't help but picture the scenes in the book with a black and white filter. It has a lot of great dark imagery of an area of California that somehow never sees the sun.
The Big Sleep is a quick and fun read, but with a mostly forgettable plotline. That being said, the whole time I was reading I was thinking to myself, 'Why don't I read more Crime Noir?' It was a good Crime Noir, but not the best. I thought of it as an ambiance read--that is, it would be best digested with a bourbon and a pipe.
March 15, 2009
What a stylist. Like listening to great jazz.
May 14, 2017
Wow! This was my first exposure to Raymond Chandler and Philip Marlowe. I'd seen several movies made from his books. They were good movies, but the books are even better. I love these stories and plan to read more.
October 4, 2007
This is a damned fine collection of hard-boiled detective classics. You get four of Chandler's best Philip Marlowe novels in one hardcover compilation.
"The Raymond Chandler Omnibus" is out of print, but used copies can be found rather cheaply online.
This is a great place to start if you're new to the world of Chandler's crime fiction. Or, if you're looking to replace your beat-up paperback editions, you can acquire "The Big Sleep," "Farewell, My Lovely," "The High Window" and "The Lady in the Lake" in one fell swoop.
"She got up slowly and swayed towards me in a tight black dress that didn't reflect any light. She had long thighs and she walked with a certain something I hadn't often in seen in bookstores."
— Raymond Chandler, "The Big Sleep"
"The Raymond Chandler Omnibus" is out of print, but used copies can be found rather cheaply online.
This is a great place to start if you're new to the world of Chandler's crime fiction. Or, if you're looking to replace your beat-up paperback editions, you can acquire "The Big Sleep," "Farewell, My Lovely," "The High Window" and "The Lady in the Lake" in one fell swoop.
"She got up slowly and swayed towards me in a tight black dress that didn't reflect any light. She had long thighs and she walked with a certain something I hadn't often in seen in bookstores."
— Raymond Chandler, "The Big Sleep"
October 11, 2007
I love Raymond Chandlers quips - they're hysterical - his picture of Los Angeles in the 1930's and 40's is in a word... classic!!
December 14, 2008
A guilty pleasure. I love the writing: quick-witted, snappy one-liners, keeps the action moving quickly.
January 20, 2016
Generally, I find it difficult to review omnibuses and collected works because the merits of some of the stories or novels in them tend to be better than others, which makes an overall opinion of the volume itself difficult to arrive at. However, in this particular one of Chandler’s crime novels, all of which features his iconic detective Philip Marlowe, my life has been made far simpler than I could have ever hoped for in this regard. For, personally, I find none of these stories themselves to be the main attraction here in the slightest. The true strength lies more in the writing itself.
Although this might rile some diehard fans of the detective genre, it just has to be plainly admitted that Chandler possessed far more style over substance. Moreover, this is proven without any dispute by his method in creating these novels, which was somewhat Burroughs-esqe. He would cut and paste two or more short stories that had previously been published into one longer novel. In the process, he would then try to blend them together by changing a few names and their individual outcomes into a cohesive narrative. This goes a long way in illustrating where Chandler placed the most importance in his writing. It wasn’t the story’s plot lines but more with the language and character development, both of which he proves to have many strengths.
However, when he combined these short stories into one longer work he didn’t use a fine toothcomb to look for any obvious inconsistencies or plot holes. Famously, and oft told, is the story about when John Huston came across one of these holes while filming his noble attempt of faithfully adhering to Chandler’s novel “The Big Sleep” [or at least as far as production codes of the time would allow him to be!]. So, he called the author up and asked him who had killed one of the minor characters in the story, specifically, the chauffeur of the Sternwood residence. To which, both the director and author were surprised to discover that he had absolutely no idea whatsoever!
I have never read anything by Chandler before but have seen Huston’s adaptation as well as a few other movies made from his books. Rather than hindering the reading experience I found that it actually helped visualize these characters all the more. Besides, due to the constraints of the film review board of the time, the book and the movies are entirely different stories in many ways. This left what was about to happen in the book still left to be discovered. Although in the end some of these were so convoluted that I gave up trying to figure them out and just let the language carry me to the conclusion with no worries about whether they made any sense or not.
Despite the complex yet occasionally flimsy plot lines, Chandler shows himself to be an amazing stylist. I’m by far the first person to point out the level of Chandler’s prose. A great deal has been made about it by many before me, and rightly so. It is very striking and original from the very first paragraph onwards. However, considering the generally low bar set by the genre itself it doesn’t seem like he necessarily had to be that good of a writer to make his mark here.
Regardless, he did wonders for the detective novel, along with Dashiell Hammett, that forever changed the public’s perception of them. Readers of all stripes can all appreciate what he’s done here. I found it nothing but good fun slumming through this oddly poetic and dark world. Many a turn of phrase found here seemed like high art…and other times to be self-parodying. In both instances, the effect was the same, pure pleasure.
Unfortunately, all of these books in this volume tend to be rather racist, misogynist and homophobic in many places but I suppose that’s to be expected for the genre itself, as well as the times it was set and written in. Whether you are willing to overlook this or not is a personal decision. For me, there are far worse examples of these attitudes being written today and in contrast those found here seem quaint and mild in comparison. Not that this makes them any less onerous. It’s here, but it doesn’t ooze and drip on every page as if its one of the driving forces behind the writing of the book. It’s a little jarring at times but largely incidental.
Overall, the character of Marlowe is one of the good ones, an honorable man in many senses, despite a few oversights of judgment and cutting corners when it comes to the letter of the law. One can fully get behind his character without any pangs of guilt for liking one of the more despicable personas normally found in these types of books. I fully recommend anyone with even a passing interest in this genre or this particular author to follow through and pick up any one of his books without the slightest hesitation. This one is fine place to start!
Although this might rile some diehard fans of the detective genre, it just has to be plainly admitted that Chandler possessed far more style over substance. Moreover, this is proven without any dispute by his method in creating these novels, which was somewhat Burroughs-esqe. He would cut and paste two or more short stories that had previously been published into one longer novel. In the process, he would then try to blend them together by changing a few names and their individual outcomes into a cohesive narrative. This goes a long way in illustrating where Chandler placed the most importance in his writing. It wasn’t the story’s plot lines but more with the language and character development, both of which he proves to have many strengths.
However, when he combined these short stories into one longer work he didn’t use a fine toothcomb to look for any obvious inconsistencies or plot holes. Famously, and oft told, is the story about when John Huston came across one of these holes while filming his noble attempt of faithfully adhering to Chandler’s novel “The Big Sleep” [or at least as far as production codes of the time would allow him to be!]. So, he called the author up and asked him who had killed one of the minor characters in the story, specifically, the chauffeur of the Sternwood residence. To which, both the director and author were surprised to discover that he had absolutely no idea whatsoever!
I have never read anything by Chandler before but have seen Huston’s adaptation as well as a few other movies made from his books. Rather than hindering the reading experience I found that it actually helped visualize these characters all the more. Besides, due to the constraints of the film review board of the time, the book and the movies are entirely different stories in many ways. This left what was about to happen in the book still left to be discovered. Although in the end some of these were so convoluted that I gave up trying to figure them out and just let the language carry me to the conclusion with no worries about whether they made any sense or not.
Despite the complex yet occasionally flimsy plot lines, Chandler shows himself to be an amazing stylist. I’m by far the first person to point out the level of Chandler’s prose. A great deal has been made about it by many before me, and rightly so. It is very striking and original from the very first paragraph onwards. However, considering the generally low bar set by the genre itself it doesn’t seem like he necessarily had to be that good of a writer to make his mark here.
Regardless, he did wonders for the detective novel, along with Dashiell Hammett, that forever changed the public’s perception of them. Readers of all stripes can all appreciate what he’s done here. I found it nothing but good fun slumming through this oddly poetic and dark world. Many a turn of phrase found here seemed like high art…and other times to be self-parodying. In both instances, the effect was the same, pure pleasure.
Unfortunately, all of these books in this volume tend to be rather racist, misogynist and homophobic in many places but I suppose that’s to be expected for the genre itself, as well as the times it was set and written in. Whether you are willing to overlook this or not is a personal decision. For me, there are far worse examples of these attitudes being written today and in contrast those found here seem quaint and mild in comparison. Not that this makes them any less onerous. It’s here, but it doesn’t ooze and drip on every page as if its one of the driving forces behind the writing of the book. It’s a little jarring at times but largely incidental.
Overall, the character of Marlowe is one of the good ones, an honorable man in many senses, despite a few oversights of judgment and cutting corners when it comes to the letter of the law. One can fully get behind his character without any pangs of guilt for liking one of the more despicable personas normally found in these types of books. I fully recommend anyone with even a passing interest in this genre or this particular author to follow through and pick up any one of his books without the slightest hesitation. This one is fine place to start!
January 18, 2013
This volume collects the first four Philip Marlowe novels - The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, The High Window, and The Lady in the Lake. I had read the first two previously, so I won't recap my reviews of them. The High Window was a nice, crisp read with the plot revolving around Marlowe being hired to recover a stolen gold doubloon coin. In a world of femme fatales, tough mugs, and a mousey secretary employed by a strange family, the detective goes about searching for clues amidst dead bodies and jumpy cops. It is classic Chandler and a pleasure to read!
September 11, 2009
Rereading Farewell My Lovely for Class.
August 9, 2008
I loved the movies Bogart made with Sam Spade, and they were true to the book, a delightful read from this genre.
November 24, 2008
HIgh Window
July 1, 2021
I was first drawn to Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe books by the old time movies. You know, the ones with Bogey and Becall; the hard boiled detective's and the femme fatales; the atmosphere so pungent you can feel it seeping through your TV screen even though it's in black and white and a cell phone could shoot a better picture.
So I thought I would give the books a try. The first one I picked up was the Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. I was a bit disappointed by it, because it felt too empty and dry.
So I decided to give Chandler a try. And it was like magic. Just a few pages in and you feel the warmth of the southern California days pouring in, the inky nights, the hot sun. You can smell the bay and feel the wind and hear the ocean sadly beating against the shoreline. You can feel the noir setting wrapping about you.
But the darkness is lit by Marlowe's sharp and witty narration. His dialogue is alive with the jaded weariness you could just hear coming from Humphrey Bogart.
And that might be the best part. The world seen through Marlowe's hilarious and weary eyes; his vivid, often sardonic and mocking, descriptions of people and places and even himself; his hilarious rejoinders.
The best description of these books is that they are alive. They feel real. They suck you in.
At times, Chandler's description ( and by association Marlowe's) have words or phrases that my modern ears did not understand, but this is to be expected for a book so localized in its time and place. In a way, the world seems all the more vivid for it, and it's a world Chandler and Marlowe describe as dark and corrupt, but I cannot help wondering how they would see Southern California today.
The books are fantastic. My only complaint is often the stories and mysteries hang together by a thread, and sometimes the plot moves too quickly to follow, or turns on a tiny point that's easy to miss. But these are all small issues compared to the vividness of the writing, the delightfulness of Marlowe's dialogue and comments, and the realness of the noir world of 1930s/40s Southern California that takes you to an entirely other place and time.
Certainly a recommended read. Certainly a good read.
So I thought I would give the books a try. The first one I picked up was the Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. I was a bit disappointed by it, because it felt too empty and dry.
So I decided to give Chandler a try. And it was like magic. Just a few pages in and you feel the warmth of the southern California days pouring in, the inky nights, the hot sun. You can smell the bay and feel the wind and hear the ocean sadly beating against the shoreline. You can feel the noir setting wrapping about you.
But the darkness is lit by Marlowe's sharp and witty narration. His dialogue is alive with the jaded weariness you could just hear coming from Humphrey Bogart.
And that might be the best part. The world seen through Marlowe's hilarious and weary eyes; his vivid, often sardonic and mocking, descriptions of people and places and even himself; his hilarious rejoinders.
The best description of these books is that they are alive. They feel real. They suck you in.
At times, Chandler's description ( and by association Marlowe's) have words or phrases that my modern ears did not understand, but this is to be expected for a book so localized in its time and place. In a way, the world seems all the more vivid for it, and it's a world Chandler and Marlowe describe as dark and corrupt, but I cannot help wondering how they would see Southern California today.
The books are fantastic. My only complaint is often the stories and mysteries hang together by a thread, and sometimes the plot moves too quickly to follow, or turns on a tiny point that's easy to miss. But these are all small issues compared to the vividness of the writing, the delightfulness of Marlowe's dialogue and comments, and the realness of the noir world of 1930s/40s Southern California that takes you to an entirely other place and time.
Certainly a recommended read. Certainly a good read.
December 11, 2022
Raymond Chandler prose is classic like jazz. You know when you've found quality, and you know when something stinks.
Yes. If I sound like Chandler, its because I love prose where you can taste the cigarette smoke, squint in the harsh interrogation light and crack a line in the same way a prize fighter throws a punch.
I'm a writer and I credit Chandler for giving me some lessons in the fine art of not only prose, discovering details, but also in creating characters.
Phil Marlowe is Chandler's narrative detective lead, and as cynical as the man appears to be, a bit of humanity always remains. Some have described the noir detective as the last remnant of a knight in shining armor. He's got nobility, when it gets under his collar... morals when he chooses to let them speak... and a determination which will make you cheer, as he gets up from yet another fight to go on and solve the case.
I have a different edition of this book, which features some of his shorter stories and essays. They are a joy to read, because you're getting writer's art from not Chandler - but Phil Marlowe. You can hear the detective voice, even as the author attempts to extradite himself from the gritty mystery of the mean streets and into a writer's mind which creativity is sometimes harder to crack than a mystery.
The stories were written in the 1930s-1950s, and we would expect to see some of the prejudices of that era... yet somehow, they're less blatant. Each of the characters regardless of their background, gender, race, class, or other personal preferences are not insulting cardboard cutouts. They are human... flawed... but still human.
And that's what I love about Phil Marlowe and Raymond Chandler. The streets are mean, but there's still one scrap of humanity, hanging on... and that's why Chandler's works continue on long after he said his goodbye.
Yes. If I sound like Chandler, its because I love prose where you can taste the cigarette smoke, squint in the harsh interrogation light and crack a line in the same way a prize fighter throws a punch.
I'm a writer and I credit Chandler for giving me some lessons in the fine art of not only prose, discovering details, but also in creating characters.
Phil Marlowe is Chandler's narrative detective lead, and as cynical as the man appears to be, a bit of humanity always remains. Some have described the noir detective as the last remnant of a knight in shining armor. He's got nobility, when it gets under his collar... morals when he chooses to let them speak... and a determination which will make you cheer, as he gets up from yet another fight to go on and solve the case.
I have a different edition of this book, which features some of his shorter stories and essays. They are a joy to read, because you're getting writer's art from not Chandler - but Phil Marlowe. You can hear the detective voice, even as the author attempts to extradite himself from the gritty mystery of the mean streets and into a writer's mind which creativity is sometimes harder to crack than a mystery.
The stories were written in the 1930s-1950s, and we would expect to see some of the prejudices of that era... yet somehow, they're less blatant. Each of the characters regardless of their background, gender, race, class, or other personal preferences are not insulting cardboard cutouts. They are human... flawed... but still human.
And that's what I love about Phil Marlowe and Raymond Chandler. The streets are mean, but there's still one scrap of humanity, hanging on... and that's why Chandler's works continue on long after he said his goodbye.
October 6, 2020
The Big Sleep is not only one of my favorites it is my bedtime read most evenings. Don't ask me how many times i have read it. I couldn't count them. Chandler is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, and lives in the minds of many mystery writers as they pen their way to the final climax of their cherished book. Why is he such an influence on writers and on me in particular? One reason is the almost preternatural way Chandler has of rendering the most common scene in the most impossible way. For instance: to describe death as the Big Sleep: "What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep."
Or "Dead men are heavier than broken hearts." Who writes like that? Chandler does. And his story of two bad girls and their dying father who is determined to deal with the man who was trying to blackmail one of his troublesome girls and Marlowe's entanglement in all of that keeps us engrossed with language that rivals that of the world's great writers and with a plot that drives us straight to the edge of a cliff and sends us spiraling downward. But in the end, Chandler ponders, with us I believe, the inevitability of death and its harsh yet merciful assurance that, in the end, we all will lie in the same ground.
Richard Conrath
Or "Dead men are heavier than broken hearts." Who writes like that? Chandler does. And his story of two bad girls and their dying father who is determined to deal with the man who was trying to blackmail one of his troublesome girls and Marlowe's entanglement in all of that keeps us engrossed with language that rivals that of the world's great writers and with a plot that drives us straight to the edge of a cliff and sends us spiraling downward. But in the end, Chandler ponders, with us I believe, the inevitability of death and its harsh yet merciful assurance that, in the end, we all will lie in the same ground.
Richard Conrath
January 16, 2018
Chandler is the master of hardboiled crime fiction, and his protagonist Philip Marlowe is a fully realized character that both defines and defies the hardboiled detective caricature. Marlowe is cynical and jaded, but also morally upright (often to a fault). He's also a tad more sophisticated than you might imagine (he likes chess! and poetry!) Plot-wise, Chandler is notorious for not always tying up every loose end, but that's not really the point in reading his novels. You read a Marlowe novel for its atmosphere; for the depictions of the dark, seedy underbelly of Los Angeles and for the shadowy interiors inhabited by femme fatales or rich, bitter old men (or both). And of course, for the dialogue. All four novels are excellent, but the best plot wise is probably The Lady in the Lake, which is also notable for taking Marlowe out of L.A. for a good chunk of the story. I checked this book out of the library intending only to read one novel in order to familiarize myself with the genre, but ended up reading all four novels back to back (and subsequently the later three Marlowe novels). Highly recommended if you enjoy (or think you might enjoy) this type of crime fiction.
May 25, 2020
Four Philip Marlowe novels in one beautiful leather-bound hard copy. My immediate thoughts as I wrap up almost 2 months of having read only 1930's detective mysteries amidst a global lockdown, Raymond Chandler is the embodiment of detective fiction. I'm not sure how many times I got sucked into the minute detail alongside the twisting plots, but these stories are really a treat. Seriously a lovely trip to get lost in while under quarantine. I mean, who doesn't love 1930's Los Angeles, seedy cops, murders, and a private investigator who doesn't quite solve crimes the conventional way? Factor in the dialogue, the subtle yet powerful descriptions, I can't imagine not thoroughly enjoying more Philip Marlowe tales down the road.
September 29, 2024
The Big Sleep: 5/5
Farewell, My Lovely: 4/5
The High Window: 4/5
Lady in the Lake: 5/5
Pinnacles of noir & mystery fiction, compelling characters, prose, & plot. There are truly sublime scenes, such as the discovery of the titular Lady in the Lake, indicative of the extent to which Chandler exceeds run of the mill noir fodder. Marlowe is rendered thoroughly & with great consistency, he’s never infallible to the point of incredulity, either morally or intellectually, but he’s always more than competent. The supporting cast of each novel is consistently varied, perfect complements & foils to Marlowe & conduits of a wonderful combination of historicity and mystery.
Farewell, My Lovely: 4/5
The High Window: 4/5
Lady in the Lake: 5/5
Pinnacles of noir & mystery fiction, compelling characters, prose, & plot. There are truly sublime scenes, such as the discovery of the titular Lady in the Lake, indicative of the extent to which Chandler exceeds run of the mill noir fodder. Marlowe is rendered thoroughly & with great consistency, he’s never infallible to the point of incredulity, either morally or intellectually, but he’s always more than competent. The supporting cast of each novel is consistently varied, perfect complements & foils to Marlowe & conduits of a wonderful combination of historicity and mystery.
October 18, 2018
Master of language you can actually feel the dreary streets and smoke filled room
October 30, 2018
Great stuff, all of the cliches, better than the movies.
April 10, 2020
Only read 'Farewell My Lovely' and saving the other two for future reads. Don't want to finish them all too fast! Essential, poetic, pageturning wit I love Raymond Chandler!
August 14, 2022
A collection of 4 classic mystery novels by Raymond Chandler from the 1940s. A Mystery Guild selection. A Garland Classic of Crime Fiction.
August 4, 2024
The perfect Chandler reader for someone who's new to his works. Be careful lending this to a friend, it's so good it might take you years to get it back.
January 12, 2023
Thoroughly entertaining re-read.
September 28, 2014
It seems to me that the first two novels Chandler wrote are a bit messier than the next two in this omnibus. Farewell, My Lovely especially seemed to have a lot of red herrings involved at the end. Things are put together a little neater in The High Window and Lady in the Lake. I figured out the twist in Lady in the Lake early on; maybe I remembered it from when I read a book of Chandler's short stories, which he often used as fodder for his novels.
Anyway, if you're going to read noir, you have to read Raymond Chandler.
That is all.
Anyway, if you're going to read noir, you have to read Raymond Chandler.
That is all.
August 7, 2015
Reading Chandler is similar to the experience of going to New York city, eating at a fine restaurant and saying,"Oh. This is what good food is." Oh. This is what good writing is. Characters I'll never forget. Compelling plot lines. Brilliant descriptions that evoke a precise time and place. A voice.. I can't bring myself to read any more fiction for a while so I can just savor this journey I've been on with him.
December 8, 2016
Borrowed this book in order to read The Big Sleep. A 1930s era detective novel. PI Marlowe is hired by dying old rich man to deal with blackmailer. Old man has two beautiful but spoiled daughters who are forever getting into scrapes. The case gets bigger, stranger, and deadlier. Obsolete slang makes for some difficulty in understanding.
Though I liked the first story, I'm not interested enough to read the other three in this collection.
Though I liked the first story, I'm not interested enough to read the other three in this collection.
May 27, 2014
I reviewed each of these books separately, but as a whole I couldn't get enough of Raymond Chandler. He has created such a feeling with his writing that you don't want to leave that cool world. I am really inspired to go out and read more of his books just to recapture that cool world and continue living in that world in my mind.
January 4, 2016
Philip Marlowe is the best. He's got the attitude, the lines and even if his method doesn't make complete sense - he's going to do his job and solve the case. Even if the case isn't his to solve. I want to go back and watch all the movies too. Humphrey Bogart has the Marlowe character down in The Big Sleep.
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