Review: The Novel The Big Sleep…

I want to emulate Raymond Chandler. I really, really do. His prose is the stuff of genius; I can read his works again and again. 

The Big Sleep, the first of the Phillip Marlowe novels, refines the storied hardboiled detective, the cynical protagonist, the archetypal antihero, first introduced by Dashiell Hammett (of whose works I’d read again and again, as well). Regardless of his approach, his ethical principles remain unwavering, and he dedicates his efforts not merely to enforcing the law but to safeguarding the innocent, serving as a chivalrous figure in the pursuit of justice.

All of the tropes of the hardboiled mystery are here, and refined, as well. There’s a femme fatale, powerful men behind desks, urban decay, a rainy nighttime setting, just to name a few. Unlike classical detectives, like those found in Agatha Christie’s novels and the like, the hardboiled detective does not use his wits per se to solve crimes. He uses his body mostly, getting beat up and pushed around more often than not. There is a particular scene in TBS in a garage where Marlowe is restrained by an inflated tire tube and attacked with fists holding rolls of nickels. Hercule Poirot would never get his hands as dirty as Phillip Marlowe’s. 

The plot involves seemingly unrelated crimes, coverups and other deadly secrets, and deep-seated corruption that Marlowe cannot make right. He collects information that no one wants him to have. He’s cynical, despite his code. He’s also very particular about the jobs he takes. He cannot be bought, despite the various efforts of the characters he encounters. He sees the job until the end, regardless of what he may uncover or who he may hurt in the process. 

There’s a reason the Phillip Marlowe novels, written by Raymond Chandler—who is British, in case you didn’t know—are so superior. The books are widely read, many films have been made based on them, and the mark they have left on American culture is undeniable. I took a course in Detective Fiction when I was in undergrad, and fell directly in love with the mystery genre, especially the hardboiled detective. My own character, in the series of urban fantasy novels I am in the process of writing, is quite Chandleresque by design. 

Read The Big Sleep. Then read it again. I highly, highly recommend it.