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nolegirl's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
guppyur's review against another edition
3.0
Short version: a lot of fun, a noir classic for a reason.
Longer version: I picked up the 1946 Bogart film adaptation some time back when I was on a Bogart-and-noir kick. I don't remember it very well; it didn't seem especially coherent, and mostly I remember thinking The Maltese Falcon was better. I left it on the shelf and haven't watched it since.
That's really a shame, because the book is excellent. I started reading it when A Dance With Dragons didn't grab me right off and I decided to detour to something else until i was more in the mood for it, and this was the book of the month for the Something Awful Book Club. My understanding is that some of the seedier details were left out of the film for reasons of decency, and without them the movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'll rewatch the film soon and see if that's true. Hopefully it will be more enjoyable now that I know what's going on.
I'm always a little surprised when I see older works with snappy dialogue, even though that makes no sense. Overcoming that illogical mental hurdle was what first got me into Bogart. The book has it too, and some admittedly overwrought writing, but that's sort of a hallmark of the genre, I think. The prose will probably not win awards. But it is very fun nonetheless.
This one is a quick read, weighing in at about 234 pages. It's worth a look, especially if you can imagine all of Marlowe's lines in Bogart's voice.
Longer version: I picked up the 1946 Bogart film adaptation some time back when I was on a Bogart-and-noir kick. I don't remember it very well; it didn't seem especially coherent, and mostly I remember thinking The Maltese Falcon was better. I left it on the shelf and haven't watched it since.
That's really a shame, because the book is excellent. I started reading it when A Dance With Dragons didn't grab me right off and I decided to detour to something else until i was more in the mood for it, and this was the book of the month for the Something Awful Book Club. My understanding is that some of the seedier details were left out of the film for reasons of decency, and without them the movie doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'll rewatch the film soon and see if that's true. Hopefully it will be more enjoyable now that I know what's going on.
I'm always a little surprised when I see older works with snappy dialogue, even though that makes no sense. Overcoming that illogical mental hurdle was what first got me into Bogart. The book has it too, and some admittedly overwrought writing, but that's sort of a hallmark of the genre, I think. The prose will probably not win awards. But it is very fun nonetheless.
This one is a quick read, weighing in at about 234 pages. It's worth a look, especially if you can imagine all of Marlowe's lines in Bogart's voice.
mandalor3960's review against another edition
2.0
I can see the beauty in this quintessential hardboiled detective novel. It has an insane story full of twists and surprises that caught me off guard during its entirety. But as usual, the genre bores me. I would never read it again but it's a great hardboiled detective novel.
Rating Update 3/12/2019 - 3 to 2 stars. It's boring.
Rating Update 28 May 2019
Two stars to one star. I was pretty bored with reading this book.
August 25, 2019
Update
With the adoption of my new rating system, a two star rating is befitting. The original review and rating updates conform to the new rating system. I will ignore the final rating update and retain the two star rating, because the atmosphere from reading the scenes with Marlowe visiting the General and Marlowe being shot blanks by the girl, are three star content. It's a boring mystery book but its alright. Nice story and crazy twists, but not to my liking, but not to my disliking. An accurate rating could be around 1.5 stars, because I still detest mysteries because of their slow reads.
Rating Update 3/12/2019 - 3 to 2 stars. It's boring.
Rating Update 28 May 2019
Two stars to one star. I was pretty bored with reading this book.
August 25, 2019
Update
With the adoption of my new rating system, a two star rating is befitting. The original review and rating updates conform to the new rating system. I will ignore the final rating update and retain the two star rating, because the atmosphere from reading the scenes with Marlowe visiting the General and Marlowe being shot blanks by the girl, are three star content. It's a boring mystery book but its alright. Nice story and crazy twists, but not to my liking, but not to my disliking. An accurate rating could be around 1.5 stars, because I still detest mysteries because of their slow reads.
feastofblaze's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
missyjohnson's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad story. Philip Marlowe, PI is hired to discover who is trying to blackmail a wealthy family. Just as the old film noir stories, the original issue is not really the issue at all. The General would like to know where his missing Son-in-law has disappeared to. He has two daughters who seem to be in trouble at every turn. Nude pictures for one and gambling on roulette for the other. It was an interesting look at life in the 1930’s. Hints of societal attitudes toward pornography, gay men, and prohibition were a part of the narrative. There were places in the book where the use of simile was overused and annoying. Marlowe got out of a number of “jams” and still solved the crime.
babyhandles's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
wetsmoke's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars.
This book was just never meant for me. I’m sure that it’s good for what it is, which is a classic hard-boiled detective novel. But I couldn’t stand the main character. He’s so arrogant. He thinks that everyone around him is an idiot (and the author writes the book so that he’s right), and that he’s the most brilliant, the most clever, and the most tough. It’s incredibly annoying.
That’s all to say nothing about how horribly the women are written. And it’s not that I’m holding this book to modern PC standards - it’s that I really think the women characters are terribly written. And the protagonist has an absolute contempt for women because of the fact that he’s attracted to them. That irritating attitude permeates literally every interaction he has with a woman.
The end was kinda good, though, so if you can endure all the stuff I take issue with, it might be worth reading.
This book was just never meant for me. I’m sure that it’s good for what it is, which is a classic hard-boiled detective novel. But I couldn’t stand the main character. He’s so arrogant. He thinks that everyone around him is an idiot (and the author writes the book so that he’s right), and that he’s the most brilliant, the most clever, and the most tough. It’s incredibly annoying.
That’s all to say nothing about how horribly the women are written. And it’s not that I’m holding this book to modern PC standards - it’s that I really think the women characters are terribly written. And the protagonist has an absolute contempt for women because of the fact that he’s attracted to them. That irritating attitude permeates literally every interaction he has with a woman.
The end was kinda good, though, so if you can endure all the stuff I take issue with, it might be worth reading.
herthrillingreads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
pizzamcpin3ppl3's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kaazi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5