Raymond
Chandler enjoys a sterling reputation in literary circles as well as
among readers of crime novels. He is admired as one of the great prose
stylists of the 20th century for his well-developed characters, lyrical
descriptions of mid-century Los Angeles, realistic dialogue, and
original similes. Time
magazine in 2005 included The Big
Sleep,
the book that introduced private eye Philip Marlowe, among the 100 best
novels published after 1923.
In The Big Sleep Marlowe
is hired by the wealthy, dying General Sternwood for an investigation
that involves his "spoiled, exacting, smart, and ruthless”
two daughters. Marlowe is supposed to expose a blackmailer, but his
investigation gets into bigger stakes — kidnapping and
murder. Typical of Chandler's intricate plots, The
Big Sleep can be a
challenge for connect-the-dots readers. Chandler admitted that his
plots could confuse even him and he was more interested in character.
Marlowe became probably the
most recognizable detective in all of crime literature, then or since,
the standard for the cynical but honest private eye with a chivalric,
sentimental core under a wise-cracking facade.
Seven of Chandler’s eight Philip Marlowe novels have been
adapted for the screen. Humphrey Bogart famously played Marlowe in
Howard Hawks’s 1946 adaptation of The Big Sleep.
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