After re-reading Altered Carbon I started reading Broken Angels but ended up thinking, "Why settle for a facsimile of Raymond Chandler when I can have to real thing?" So I pulled out The Big Sleep and started reading that instead.
The Big Sleep was Chandler's breakthrough novel and I'm always impressed by the sheer style and readability of his language. The voice is authentic, a cynical, world weary private investigator who nevertheless is still un-bribable. All the other PI novel series (Sue Grafton, Robert B Parker) are pale imitations of Chandler's Philip Marlowe, who in this novel just goes through nearly every trope that are then reflected in other novelists' rendition of similar stories.
But none of them have Chandler's ear for language, use of metaphor, and ability to bring your point of view so neatly in sync with his protagonist's. The richness of the imagery, foreshadowing, and character just rings true, even though on this re-reading it's quite clear that he tried to telegraph the name of the villain.
The ending also rings with sadness, but that's in character with the genre, and if there's a lot of cynicism it's still not as bleak as Richard Morgan's.
1 comment:
You have managed to neatly summarise what I feel about Chandler's writing but have never been able to put into words. Enjoying the tour stories as well!
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