Raymond Chandler

[zigzig20s]

I'm reading The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. It's not bad. I'm not very familiar with detective novels though, I'm not too sure what to think. Anyone read it and care to tell me what they think, or suggest other books by him? No spoiler please.

[PeterL]

I'm reading The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. It's not bad. I'm not very familiar with detective novels though, I'm not too sure what to think. Anyone read it and care to tell me what they think, or suggest other books by him?

I have read a few of Chandler's novels. He was a pretty good writer, but I think his attraction is more stylistic than substantial. If you like that general type of thing, I think that Dashiell Hammett and Robert B. Parker did the same things much better.

[mtpspur]

Amen to Dashiell Hammett especially read Red Harvest. I read a lot Chandler but have to be patient for the 'payoff''. He builds mood at the expense of movement. I wish Hammett wrote a little like Chandler and Chandler wrote a little like Hammett for a what would be a wonderful blend in the detective genre. If you can fin them Frederick Nebel and John K. Butler are guilty pleasure reads.

[ennison]

Chandler's anti-hero central characters are rough diamonds in a cynical and uncaring society. Marlowe is a knight. Keep a look out for images and plot tics that back up that idea. I rememember being very angry with Altman's twisted version of a Chandler story. Altman ultimately made Marlowe even more cynical and twisted than the society he moved in. Probably Altrman didn't like Chandler's critique of Californian hedonistic materialism.

[kathycf]

You might like these novels by Chandler:

Farewell, My Lovely (1940)

The High Window (1942)


Another author with similiar style is James M. Cain. You might like these:

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934) (classic !) :)

Mildred Pierce (1941) Still dark, but a little "soapy" (soap opera-ish)

[byquist]

I suppose Dick Francis is a "mystery" writer, but there often is a sort of detective work going on in his tales. He gets a lot of "humanity" into his yarns.

[bouquin]

I have read The Big Sleep. Like you said, it's not bad. More recently, I read Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley; the author's style and the story's ambiance reminded me of The Big Sleep.

[kathycf]

I have read The Big Sleep. Like you said, it's not bad. More recently, I read Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley; the author's style and the story's ambiance reminded me of The Big Sleep.
Mosley's books are set in a similiar post WW2 era, and I thought they were mostly excellent. Also a good choice for a person who likes mystery/detective novels.