Reviews

A Irmãzinha by Raymond Chandler

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mikearhodes's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I read 5 of the 7 Marlowe books a decade or so ago and on a whim decided to read this, one of the ones I hadn't read.
I found it a book of two halves. The first half was poor in my opinion: it seemed to lack any of the diamond similie's and metaphors that are a trademark of Chandler, the plot was dull, and every female character seemed to exist only to throw themselves at the hero (even by the standards of the genre, it's grating). It felt like reading a poorer writers satire of Chandler.
Things picked up a lot in the back half, when the pacing picks up and the plot becomes more interesting. I ended up enjoying it a fair bit - it's weak for Chandler overall but that's still far better prose than most can manage.

I think the Big Sleep is fresher, The Long Goodbye a deeper, richer material, The Lady In the Lake a good balance of the two and is probably the tightest plot.

dee9401's review against another edition

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3.0

Another three star Chandler. I'm guessing this might do me in for more of his books. The Big Sleep (1939) was a spectacular introduction to Chandler's style and world. And his The Long Goodbye (1953) has made it into my top ten favorite books.

Like Farewell, My Lovely, there are just too many descriptive sections in The Little Sister that go on and on, usually at the beginning of a chapter. It slows the hardboiled, fast-pace style that drew me to Chandler's prose in the first place. The story here is good but the execution just isn't there.

Weird, the two books I don't like fell in between the two I really liked. As I said before, read The Long Goodbye. It's well worth it for social commentary, fast-paced writing, and a good time. Trust me.

dantastic's review against another edition

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4.0

A woman from a small Kansas town hires Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. What Marlowe finds is himself ensnared in a web of drugs, blackmail, and murder...

As I've said many times, noir fiction and I go together like a bottle of cheap vodka and nightmares about being chased by coyotes. The Little Sister by the esteemed Raymond Chandler is no exception.

It may be because it's been a few months since I've read one of Raymond Chandler's oddly poetic noir masterpieces but I liked The Little Sister almost as much as [b:Farewell, My Lovely|2050|Farewell, My Lovely|Raymond Chandler|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320550157s/2050.jpg|1263111] but not as much as [b:The Big Sleep|2052|The Big Sleep|Raymond Chandler|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327876070s/2052.jpg|1222673]. Chandler's simile-ridden prose pushes Marlowe from one sordid event to the next, making the bloody trip as pleasurable as a walk on the beach.

As is usual for a Chandler book, the plot meanders all over the place. Marlowe takes a kicking but keeps pushing his way forward, solving the case through a combination of luck, good detective work, and top notch dialog.

The case looked simple when it was just Ormafay looking for Orrin. Throw in the blackmail angle with Mavis Weld, some thug named Steelgrave, and people getting murdered with ice picks to the neck every other chapter and I had no idea where things were going for a good portion of the book.

The trip to the end was confusing but quite pleasurable due to Chandler's sublime prose. I lost track of all the one-liners I wanted to remember. "His nose had been broken and set but hadn't ever been a collector's item" is the first one that springs to mind.

I know I saw it with every Raymond Chandler book I review but this is a must read for noir and detective fiction fans. It's an easy four stars.

gsatori's review against another edition

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4.0

This is a great read. Fun prose. Yeah, the ending is a little too complicated as you find yourself asking "Wait, who shot who?" But, that doesn't really matter. The journey is everything here.

lgpiper's review against another edition

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4.0

Quite a good book. It deals with Hollywood types and the drifters and grifters who orbit them, sputnik sweethearts, so to speak. An interesting side light for me was that the "little sister" who came out to Hollywood and involved Philip Marlowe in the ensuing mess was from Manhattan, Kansas. I lived in Manhattan for two years. Never met a prissy, overly prim type while I was there, but perhaps I wasn't paying attention. Or perhaps they'd all left between the time Chandler was relating and the time I was there, writing my "best selling" (i.e. most cited) paper (something about metastable argon atoms).