tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post4249524934868909058..comments2024-03-11T01:39:11.362-04:00Comments on At the Scene of the Crime: So Long, My SweetPatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-17921341349764938962011-09-11T13:54:52.314-04:002011-09-11T13:54:52.314-04:00Hi Patrick, great review - I'm glad to hear yo...Hi Patrick, great review - I'm glad to hear you preferred this one as for me Chandler is one of the true great authors of the 40s and 50s, a truly original prose stylist who really helped changed the genre. To a degree I agree with you (and Symons ...) about the plots though I always thought that way the negative search for the elusive Rusty Regan in THE BIG SLEEP was quite intriguingly handled - but I love this first novel too, for Regan's very absence, the great dialogue and descriptions of time and place and the portrait of General Sternwood that are truly unforgettable. To be continued, no doubt ...Sergio (Tipping My Fedora)http://bloodymurder.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-38030994599331308042011-09-10T23:02:18.924-04:002011-09-10T23:02:18.924-04:00@Luis
Nope, sorry, the name doesn't ring a bel...@Luis<br />Nope, sorry, the name doesn't ring a bell. I might return to Chandler soon after this book, but I won't promise anything because the plans I make often change on me. Case in point: my plan to review "Harvard has a Homicide" was completely skewed after I was gobsmacked by the brilliance of "Heir Presumptive".<br /><br />@PuzzleDoctor<br />Glad to be of service... although I did try to be more charitable towards Chandler in this review! I genuinely enjoyed this book, unlike "The Long Goodbye".<br /><br />@Christopher<br />I've been reading Julian Symons' "Bloody Murder" recently, and in one passage, Symons absolutely destroys Raymond Chandler. I'll be reviewing "Bloody Murder" soon and I'll be sure to point out the passage. :)<br /><br />@vegetableduck<br />Elliott Gould's narration was so good he was almost able to pull off the whole thing about the Indian. It's silly tomfoolery, and far more offensive than AC's use of "Ten Little Indians"... so why is Chandler allowed to walk uncensored while Christie's book is altered to use soldier/sailor boys instead?<br /><br />@neer<br />I loved the beginning of TLG, but my interest wandered and the result was probably the harshest review I've written to date. It was compounded due to my outrage that this same author wrote "The Simple Art of Murder", but after reading Curt Evans' excellent two-part article about Chandler and the English detective story, I can respect him a little more now... I was particularly shocked to learn that he unequivocally defended "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"!!!Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-54901597736317142882011-09-10T21:54:17.627-04:002011-09-10T21:54:17.627-04:00Ah well! The Long Goodbye is my favourite Chandler...Ah well! The Long Goodbye is my favourite Chandler. There are some haunting lines in that one. And the image at the end stays with you long after you have finished reading it.<br /><br />I didn't really enjoy this book so much though the story, which forms the kernel of it, and is to be found in the collection Killer in the Rain, was interesting.neerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01986509319841061021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-71703642818700757442011-09-10T16:14:44.614-04:002011-09-10T16:14:44.614-04:00I thought the plot here was so much better than Th...I thought the plot here was so much better than The Big Sleep, though again he was putting together elements from his pulp stories. His best plots are The Lady in the Lake and The High Window, I think. I love the writing, although the "the Indian stank" part is rather off-putting. Some people are put off by Marlowe's indulgence of Moose as well.<br /><br />There's a quite good film version of this book.The Passing Tramphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09830680639601570152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-72019602536639668362011-09-10T16:00:22.490-04:002011-09-10T16:00:22.490-04:00My favorite rebuttal to Chandler's comments in...My favorite rebuttal to Chandler's comments in "The Simple Art of Murder" is the fact that when they made the movie version of "The Big Sleep," the screenwriter couldn't figure out who killed one of the victims in the book. When he asked Chandler who killed that character, Chandler replied that he didn't know either.Christopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03343947041898057102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-84564265009925806012011-09-10T12:56:13.716-04:002011-09-10T12:56:13.716-04:00Not read any Chandler yet (or anything really from...Not read any Chandler yet (or anything really from this era of the genre) so thanks for letting me cross Chandler off my list. To be honest, I doubted it'd click with me, but it's nice to have some confirmation. Cheers.Puzzle Doctorhttp://classicmystery.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-16046707328510043132011-09-10T10:31:12.079-04:002011-09-10T10:31:12.079-04:00I love The Long Goodbye, so we dont see eye to eye...I love The Long Goodbye, so we dont see eye to eye, but DO try other novels by RC, more for the style than the plots.<br />Have you read Jonathan Valin?Luisnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-57642688881436822672011-09-10T10:15:17.107-04:002011-09-10T10:15:17.107-04:00I hadn't planned on it- just by reading the pl...I hadn't planned on it- just by reading the plot summary, I feel confident that I know what the ending twist will rely on. If I return to Chandler (which I may or may not get around to doing before I end the series), it will most likely be with <i>The High Window</i>Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01844617192737950378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-499247432649483938.post-54151256882632872922011-09-10T09:10:49.058-04:002011-09-10T09:10:49.058-04:00I also thought this book was more readable than it...I also thought this book was more readable than its predecessor, but, as you pointed out, the plot feels improvised – like a series of events stringed together rather than a coherent narrative. <br /><br />Do you have <i>The Lady in the Lake</i> lined up for this hardboiled period? It'd be interesting to see what you think of Chandler's most conventional detective story, in which he even employs a very old plot device in the hopes of throwing the reader off-scent.TomCathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03415176301265218101noreply@blogger.com