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Title: Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler ISBN: 0-394-75827-7 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 July, 1988 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.22 (23 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: ...stands out like a tarantula on a slice of angel food
Comment: Farewell My Lovely, Raymond Chandler's second novel in the Philip Marlowe series, transcends the genre it helped to create, and is now (deservedly) viewed by many as literature and as social criticism.
Chandler creates moods and telegraphs emotions via the poetic ramblings and outrageous similes from the mind of Philip Marlowe, the protagonist/detective/narrator who is picked up by the collar and dragged into a murder mystery that exposes not only the hypocrisy beneath the surface in the lifestyles of the rich and beautiful, but ultimately, the depravity of the human condition. And all of this is delivered with a caustic sense of humor, a wry wit, and a hypersensitivity to the visual world and it's translation into the language of the mean streets.
Although Chandler died shortly before I was born, I grew up in L.A., and I can say that the L.A. Chandler wrote of is in many ways the city of my childhood memories, so well did he capture the ambiance and ambivalence of the 'city of angels'.
Some have criticized his plotting and plausability, but emotion, action, and detail were what interested him the most, and in these he excelled. FAREWELL MY LOVELY must be viewed within the context of it's era (published in 1940) to be fully appreciated, but the flow of action, the visual aspect of it's language, and the insights into the very human conflict of corruption verses conscience are timeless.
This book, like the first in the Marlowe series (THE BIG SLEEP) was written at the height of Chandler's creative career, and exemplifies the style that has made him a writer's writer, possibly the most imitated author of the past century.
Rating: 4
Summary: Improbable But Impressive Stuff
Comment: Raymond Chander's second novel is both more and less successful than his first. THE BIG SLEEP suffered from a plot that fell apart in midstream; FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, however, is much more consistent throughout. On the other hand, for all its twists and turns, THE BIG SLEEP was quite plausible; FAREWELL, MY LOVELY, however, is about as farfetched as you can get. But once again, such criticisms are almost beside the point: the great attraction is still Chandler's knock-you-flat prose, his tone of voice, his often imitated but seldom equaled style, and it is so powerful that it keeps you turning page after page after page.
In general, FAREWELL, MY LOVELY once more finds street-smart and super-savvy California P.I. Philip Marlowe sticking his nose where it has no business being--and when curiosity leads him to follow a massively built white man into a black nightclub he finds himself embroiled in a murder no one cares about solving... at least not until it begins to figure in what seems to be a completely different case with a high-society spin. And encounters with stolen jewels, a spiritualist racket, police corruption, and a gambling ship quickly follow.
Along the way Chandler again paints a gritty portrait of the seamy side of life. On this occasion, he takes a passing look at race, and makes the point that from a police point of view two standards apply: the authorities care nothing about the murder of a black man, but they treat a white man's murder very differently indeed. This portion of the novel is intrinsically controversial, for Chandler uses the slang and racial slurs common to the mean streets of his era--but it is worth noting that although Marlowe uses the same language, his attitude toward the blacks who appear in the novel is considerably different from that of the authorities, who could not care less about the murder of a black man who don't much care who knows it. And once again, Chandler graces his pages with dames and dandies, broads and bums--and he makes them live with remarkable vitality. The famous prose is as rich as ever, although noticeably less witty and quite a bit darker than that found in THE BIG SLEEP. We've stepped off the curb and into the gutter, Chandler seems to be saying, and we're walking in it all the way. Impressive stuff and a very entertaining read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Another big steep for the noir literature
Comment: In case you were wondering that Raymond Chandler's 'The Big Sleep' was a fluke, wonder no more, go and read his follow up "Farewell, My Lovely". It is hard to choose which one is the best, because they are both so good. In this new adventure of his best character Philip Marlowe there are many more adventures, thrills and mysteries than in the first novel.
In this second step of the noir literature, Chandler has built up and developed his style and characters, so he spends no time with that. The novel begins with plain action, and it takes only a few pages for the writer to set the main mystery of this narrative. Once it is done, he has all time in the world to make the weirdest people cross Marlow's path.
Like in the previous book, the prose is dry, there aren't many descriptions --only of some characters, but nothing that evocative-- and it is not a bad thing. by using such a device Chandler is able to write non-stop action making the main plot more and more intrincated, until its solution. A great book, highly recommended to readers who like mistery novels of high quality and beautiful prose.
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Title: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler ISBN: 0394758285 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 July, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler ISBN: 0394757688 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The High Window by Raymond Chandler ISBN: 0394758269 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 July, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler ISBN: 0394758250 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Trouble Is My Business by Raymond Chandler ISBN: 0394757645 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 12 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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