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Sep 21, 2023
Hoopla!
Sep 09, 2023GregoryDLM rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
One of the best detective stories ever. Substantially different from the justly renowned Bogie-and-Bacall film, the story is the archetype of the hardboiled detective noir. It is well-paced, with fully developed characters and evocative…
Feb 15, 2023lvhiker rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It's easy to understand why Raymond Chandler has been considered a pioneer in the murder mystery genre.
Jan 21, 2023
" there was no fear in the scream. it had a sound of half-pleasurable shock, an accent of drunkenness, an overtone of pure idiocy. it was a nasty sound." "she wore brownish speckled tweeds, a mannish shirt and tie, hand-carved walking…
Oct 12, 2022MVK912 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Excellent writing. Phillip Marlowe's sarcasm and wit are thoroughly enjoyable. He can hold his own against the spoiled brat daughters of the man who employs him. The movie was good too - I can hear where the lines came from that are in…
May 17, 2022Alpha_zzz rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Puh-lease. I did not finish this book. I found it very sexist and demeaning. Phillip Marlowe thought he was way too cool for humanity, so I was far from enlightened.
chornavdova
Apr 27, 2022chornavdova rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
P.I. Philip Marlowe is unintentionally hilarious. Every page has such atmosphere and throws you right into the world Chandler describes. If you're a fan of detective noir, highly recommend!
Jan 10, 2022fred98115 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Philip Marlowe, LA private eye, in a classic mystery of blackmail and out-of-control wealthy daughters of a sick, dying man.
May 09, 2021delphimo rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler reeks in simile. The simile twinkles from every page with this brilliant technique. Death becomes the big sleep, and many characters plummeted into this sleep in this hard hitting and fast-moving…
Aug 10, 2020alecbussott rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Snappy and mischievous; a very entertaining read.
Jun 02, 2019
A scandal…a blackmail attempt…a murder…a romance…a little snappy, rapid fire banter…noir fiction is alive and well in this recreation of a vintage radio play. In this story, we follow a hard boiled detective, Philip Marlowe, as he becomes…
Apr 30, 2019
Another "Summer of Chandler" I reread these books every few years. This is probably one of my top 2 on the list. These are some of the best noir you will ever read. Philip Marlowe is the prototype for all fictional detectives. Maybe…
Jan 09, 2019IndyPL_SteveB rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
One of the most important hard-boiled detective novels, featuring tough, but mostly honorable, detective Philip Marlowe. Chandler stitched this novel together from several of his magazine short stories (which leaves an unresolved plot…
Sep 16, 2018darladoodles rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This is why I love book groups. The Big Sleep has been waiting in the wings for ages and I would most certainly have left it there if one of my book groups had not added it to the list for September. It was not an easy book to read -- so…
May 19, 2018Andrew Kyle Bacon rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Prose that sticks to you like wet cement. Heavy and coarse, but easy to swallow like hard liquor. It's a book that grabs you by the teeth and performs a root canal on your heartstrings, dipping you into the seedy world of rich people who…
Jan 23, 2018BostonPL_JordanD rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
My online book group is doing a Marlowe challenge this year, so I'll be reading one book per month from this series. Anyway: Loved this. It’s easy to see Chandler’s influence on Joseph Hansen, one of my all-time favorite mystery writers. I…
Feb 11, 2017p_snoop rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Written around the 1920s, location Los Angeles. Escaping into a Raymond Chandler book is easy. Liking this read so far. The private detective works cheap, carries a gun. I like his frank talk with women both innocent and guilty.
Feb 22, 2016SunsetBranch rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I'm going to stop reading all these hard-boiled detective stories: now I want a gat--or a sap--or both
Jun 25, 2014Angeleyes8 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I've never read a book like this and probably would not have read this one if I didn't see it on a list. Once I got into it it was pretty good.
voisjoe1
Feb 12, 2014voisjoe1 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
One of my favorite Humphrey Bogart movie is “The Big Sleep” where he portrays Raymond Chandler’s private detective, Philip Marlowe. As Chandler expresses through his character Marlowe, the detective’s life is not at all what is portrayed…
Jun 19, 2013
Phoebe calls Chandler the father of the "hard-boiled, noir detective". Maybe so but no one should forget a equally famous American writer, Dashiell Hammet. Although Chandler was born before Hammet I have always looked upon Hammet as the…
Apr 17, 2013JCLJoshN rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Overall, I liked The Big Sleep. It kind of drags at times, and the homophobia of the time is a little hard to take, but Chandler writes with blunt, dark poetry, and Philip Marlowe is a great tarnished white knight of a character. I'm a big…
May 04, 2012
These are fast moving, suspenseful whodunits. The plots are tight and the characters all memorable. Don't skip a line because the detail is interesting and necessary to the plot. The one-liners are quotable ("She had the kind of face…
Jun 28, 2011macierules rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Raymond Chandler's first book starring Philip Marlowe - and what a witty, tough detective he is. Very convoluted plot, you have to keep on your toes to figure it out. This is one great read!
Apr 26, 2011sixtyfive rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book was on Time Magazine's list of the 100 Best Books. If you want to get an idea of the late 1930s street vocabulary, this is a must read. But for a great story well told, this book doesn't really cut it.