The Big Sleep: Amazon.ca: Raymond Chandler: Books

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"His thin, claw-like hands were folded loosely on the rug, purple-nailed. A few locks of dry white hair clung to his scalp, like wild flowers fighting for life on a bare rock." Published in 1939, when Raymond Chandler was 50, this is the first of the Philip Marlowe novels. Its bursts of sex, violence, and explosively direct prose changed detective fiction forever. "She was trouble. She was tall and rangy and strong-looking. Her hair was black and wiry and parted in the middle. She had a good mouth and a good chin. There was a sulky droop to her lips and the lower lip was full." --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Chandler is not only the best writer of hardboiled PI stories, he's one of the 20th century's top scribes, period. His full canon of novels and short stories is reprinted in trade paper featuring uniform covers in Black Lizard's signature style. A handsome set for a reasonable price.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

66 Reviews

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (66 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pulp Fiction, Jun 6 2008

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Craig Jenkins (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Big Sleep (Paperback)

This novel could certainly never be considered high art, but the writing is certainly stylish, and the characters have a real life mixture of strength and frailty that make them interesting sketches, all on their own.

Marlowe is the classic "hard boiled" detective. Tough and jaded enough to cut like a knife, but damaged enough by it for the reader to realize he's taken his knocks. Under it all, some human weakness, on the edge of no longer being contained by morality.

Highly recommended for an enjoyable read.

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5.0 out of 5 stars perfect writing, massive wit, and philosophical, too!, Jun 13 2004

By

Chris Stolz (canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Big Sleep (Paperback)

Chandler is, bar none, the best writer of the so-called "hard boiled detective" genre, and this is his greatest work.

In a labyrinthine plot featuring corrupt, orchid-growing millionaires, beautiful blondes, gray men with guns and the cynical, deeply romantic narrator-protagonsit Marlowe, we see Los Angeles of the 1940s as Marlowe looks for the truth about murder, pornography and, ultimately, loss.

The sheer genius of Chandler's writing-- aside from the accompished plot twists-- is his deceptively simple language, which sparkles, and his narrator's deadpan wit. From the descriptions of women ("Inside was a blonde. A blonde! A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.") to the caustic remarks in the face of death ("She would either shoot me, or she wouldn't.") to his existential comments ("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"), Marlowe is as entertainign to lsiten to as he is to watch.

Chandler's achievement here goes beyond the action sequences, or the wit of his narrator, or the complexity of his plots. His narrator, the tough-as-nails Marlowe, appeals because he is profoundly romantic at heart, but doomed, like Hamlet, to be disappointed. Like Hamlet-- who writes a play to discover the origins of his misery-- Marlowe too is a storyteller, whose stories lead to one kind of understanding, where actions and sequences finally cohere. But Marlowe's dilemmas are Hamlet's, in that although he can tell the story, his sense of what it all means at the end is far from complete.

Chandler's stories are really about people who are lost. Marlowe's quest to find the body and re-tell the story-- although always successful-- is always undermined by his elliptical and understated awareness that, for all our ingenuity and striving, it all ultimately comes down, as it does for Hamlet and for all of us, to the big sleep.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Genre Defining Classic, May 28 2004

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"loopylou38" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Sleep (Paperback)

The first book of Chandler's Philip Marlowe series is an especially interesting read for those who've seen the classic film with Bogey and Bacall. The film is actually a fairly faithful adaptation of the book, with all references to pornography removed. This is odd, because the story is about blackmail and pornography. Cinemaphiles will read the book and at key points think "oh, that's what it was about."

Be warned: when you start reading Chandler, you're going to read two or three in a row.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be missed.
Originally published in 1939, The Big Sleep is the first novel to feature fiction's legendary private eye, Philip Marlowe. Read more

Published on April 18 2004 by Michael G.

2.0 out of 5 stars Chandler's Unpolished Debut in Hardboiled Tradition
HEAVY SPOILERS INCLUDED

In his debut novel to introduce private eye Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler seems to have combined two different short story materials into one plot... Read more

Published on Mar 16 2004 by jazzest

5.0 out of 5 stars Noir with capital N
In the world of noir literature Raymond Chandler is the undisputable king. With his novels starred by the private Detective Philip Marlowe he creates an unique world that set the... Read more

Published on Mar 11 2004 by Alysson Oliveira

1.0 out of 5 stars What is the point?
Review of the book The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
What was the point, January 14, 2004
Reviewer: Sleepy-head, from Nowhere
I know that the setting of this book... Read more

Published on Jan 14 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars father of noir
This is the place to start if you like noir writing. If you like Parker, MacDonald, Connelly, or Burke, this is the book will be for you. Read more

Published on Jan 12 2004 by skidz75

5.0 out of 5 stars The Big Amazingly, Unexpectedly Good Novel
Raymond Chandler's first novel, The Big Sleep, is the best mystery/crime novel I've ever read and even one of the best novels I've ever read. Read more

Published on July 22 2003 by Mollie Taylor

5.0 out of 5 stars This is where it all began
Raymond Chandler's very first attempt at a detective novel was a clear winner. The Big Sleep features a complex plot and a fantastic character - Philip Marlowe. Read more

Published on July 13 2003 by Lisa Shea

1.0 out of 5 stars Less than I expected
I read this book because it was a choice for a book group I'm in and I was excited to read such an historically important novel. However, I was very dissappointed. Read more