#amreading The Big Sleep

Author: Raymond Chandler

Discovered: I've been meaning to read this book for literally years

Where read: (in part) Iris and June, Victoria, London (http://www.irisandjune.com/)

What's the story?

The Big Sleep was THE novel that introduced the World to private investigator Philip Marlowe and in so doing put American crime drama on the map. Chandler's novel sees Marlowe hired by the wealthy Sternwood family to investigate a case of blackmail involving his two daughters. The story takes Marlowe deep into the underbelly of 1930s Hollywood as corpses turn up, relationships are uncovered and confessions are made in a labyrinthine plot.

The Word's Shortlist view:

I've lost count of the times I've read that Chandler influenced writers, film makers and artists - he almost single handedly defined 'hard-boiled' a uniquely American sub genre of the detective/crime canon whilst also selling bucket loads of books that have mostly been adapted for film. So, what is that that makes Chandler's books so compelling?

For me its the grimy and seedy Los Angeles settings that perfectly evoke a world outside the bright lights of Hollywood like the pornography library in this novel. “It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in.” Its a world that Marlowe/Chandler understands well from film noir and from pulp fiction magazines. 

Its also the women.“She lowered her lashes until they almost cuddled her cheeks and slowly raised them again, like a theatre curtain. I was to get to know that trick. That was supposed to make me roll over on my back with all four paws in the air.” Chandler writes about strong and commanding women, the pulp fiction femme fatale.


Finally, its the poetic prose which lifts The Big Sleep and other Chandler works from straight forward crime fiction to classic literature.  “Under the thinning fog the surf curled and creamed, almost without sound, like a thought trying to form inself on the edge of consciousness.” Chandler's use of language is often in beautifull contradiction to the subject and settings.

Who should read this book?

Fans of fiction and of American culture. Start with The Big Sleep and immediately run out and buy The Long Goodnight and Farewell my Lovely.

What’s next on the bookshelf

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Tweet of the week:

There is something seriously wrong in #birmingham. £180m on a new library and no money to fill the shelves. Vanity over literacy

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