Raymond Chandler

[Connavar]

Anyone here like his stories?

I saw some thread called favorit authors with his name among the many name there.



What do you think of his stories if you have read them?

 

[Ursa major]

Quite a few years ago, I read Farewell, My Lovely. Someone I knew had borrowed the book from the library, read it quickly, but was not going to return it straightaway. I'd seen the films, which I liked, but I had no great hopes for the books beyond the plot. How wrong I was. With a few well-chosen words, I was there on those famous streets of LA. Excellent.

Now you've reminded me (thanks!) I think I ought to investigate the other books.

 

[Connavar]

Big Sleep is a good place to start.


I adore his prose. Just as you said after a few well-chosen words you see Marlowe's LA so clearly.

 

[Musky]

They are great. The dialogue is also razor sharp. You have to love Marlowe. I think it speaks to the quality of the writing that they have been interpreted so many ways when made into films. They remind in some ways of well written plays.

If you like Chandler, make sure you check out Dashiell Hammett and Ross Macdonald.

That's the "The Holy Trinity" of American hardboiled detective fiction.

 

[Connavar]

What is funny is that when you read it and you think man i have seen scenes and lines like this in so many movies. This must be where they started !


What im sooo impressed by is how he can go from some beautiful writing that could be written in poem form to some very sharp lines . Some lines out of Marlowe's mouth has made me chuckle out loud cause of cool or fun they are.



I was afraid in the start of the story that writing would be too fancy for a hardboiled story but he is very good at changing beteween the ways he writes.


Heck i will check out Hammett and Macdonald just to see how they rate against Chandler.

 

[j d worthington]

I'll second the urging of Hammett and Macdonald. Hammett actually created the American hardboiled detective novel, along with such characters as Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles (The Thin Man series) as well as creating the Continental Op. His style is somewhat more terse and a bit more dry (in the positive sense) at times than Chandler, but damned good, and gets better with repeated readings. Macdonald's first Lew Archer book is a tad uneven, but he hits his stride quickly, and even Moving Target is well worth reading. It's a bit later in period, so it has a slightly different sensibility, but is every bit as meaty as the other two.

I'd also like to put in a word for another Macdonald... John D. MacDonald, with his Travis McGee novels. Not truly hardboiled in the same sense as the other three, but very closely related. Trav is someone who "finds" things that other people have lost... for a fee. He also has a bit of the "knight-in-shining-armor" to his personality, which he frequently curses himself for, as it gets him into some very nasty situations both physically and emotionally, as his cynicism about people wars with his innate idealism. The books are wonderful, even if occasionally a bit wonky in some passages; the flaws are minor blemishes, and if you like the sorts of things that come out of Marlowe's mouth, you'd almost certainly like McGee's take on things.

One thing all of these characers share in common is an innate decency and unspoken idealism about the human race that is constantly at war with what they do for a living, and the venality they see all around them... and frequently have to practice themselves. It allows them to be very keen observers of their society, and allows the books themselves to be wonderful stories and vehicles for examining the heartmeat of the human condition at the same time....

Here's the list of the McGee novels:

John D. MacDonald - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As well as the Lew Archer stories (both novels and shorts):

Lew Archer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'd suggest reading them in order, as this allows you to see the characters grow and change, as well as allowing you to see an arc of the writers' views of the world in which they live. And here's a helpful look at Hammett:

Dashiell Hammett

 

[Musky]

Connavar, if you are looking for more older books other than those written by the "trinity", you may also want to look for Jim Thompson novels. The main characters in these are more seedy, and the stories generally very dark. Alcohol and mental health problems abound. Thompson lived a very rough and tumble life, and his novels are set in oil fields, bars, seedy hotels, and the like. Supposedly they are at least partially autobiographical in nature. A number have been made into very good movies including "The Grifters" and "After Dark My Sweet."

As I mentioned in the Thriller thread, look into the Vintage Crime/Black Lizard series for many other great noir novels.

And don't forget the Dave Robicheaux series written by James Lee Burke. Start with the first, Neon Rain. You will not be disappointed.

I know I sound like a broken record with these crime/hard boiled recommendations, but I feel the genre includes some very fine American writing that does not get the recognition it deserves.

 

[Connavar]

I was gonna check out Thompson but im having trouble finding his stories/books.

I plan to try James Lee Burke. I will read both and get back you to in the thriller thread. Hopefully i like it. After every great writer i read in the genre weather its Chandler or Lee Child i get even stronger urge to read the genre.

I just finished The Big Sleep, it was a great story. I liked how well he painted up the corrupted LA and its people. At the end Marlowe looked more defeated than any crime hero i have seen.

I have a library omnibus that is so old and people have treated like crap it looks like its torn to pieces. I will order the second Marlowe story from bookstore instead of reading the old collection.



JD:

As usuall cant thank you enough for being the book pusher you are

 

[j d worthington]

JD:

As usuall cant thank you enough for being the book pusher you are

LOL... Well, if I could just figure out how to get these dead guys to pay up, I might even be turning a profit.... Chiefly, though, I just hope you enjoy....

 

[Connavar]

Hehe


By they way you never said what you think of Chandler and Marlowe. Did you like the stories you have read? If so what did you like and what didnt like?

 

[j d worthington]

I hate to admit it, but I've not read Chandler's work in 35 years now, so my memory is rather vague. I do remember quite liking his work... in some ways, a bit more than Hammett (stylistically speaking); I can't really remember specifics, but I do remember really liking (not surprisingly) The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, and The Long Goodbye.... I also remember quite liking "The King in Yellow" which (oddly enough) I'd read years before I read Chambers' original story collection (of the same name) that Chandler's tale was inspired by...

 

[HardScienceFan]

i've got an antho with terrific stories

in fact I think
i have Trouble is my business AND Killer in the RAin

JD i've got a marvelous antho ,edited by Ron Goulart,with crime fiction from the thirties.

test your encyclopaedic knowledge on this one.

 

[j d worthington]

i've got an antho with terrific stories

in fact I think
i have Trouble is my business AND Killer in the RAin

JD i've got a marvelous antho ,edited by Ron Goulart,with crime fiction from the thirties.

test your encyclopaedic knowledge on this one.

Um, Ben... Title? Contents?

 

[olc]

I read most of Robert Parker's Spenser books before I read my first Chandler. Now I know who influence Parker. Parker influnced quite a few younger writers so the Chandler influence is passed on.
I think I've read three (of Chandlers) so far. I pick them up when I see them.