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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
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
Marlowe stumbles across Moose Malloy, a massive ex-con who's looking for Velma, a lady with whom he worked, before going away for a bank robbery. From there, he meets a good cop, a jaded one, a fortune-teller, a drunk old-lady, the daughter of an ex-chief of police, a rich dame, among others. Nothing spectacular but his writing style is a good as ever, even if he showed how homophobic and racist society was in the 1940s.
Chandler sets the template for the "hard-boiled" detective story; the arch narration, the clever descriptions, the sharp, quick banter; there are some truly fantastic passages but hoo-boy, the racism is something else! I've read my share of older fiction but to encounter such horrible sentiments in the first-person can still be shocking. Just be warned if you're coming to this after watching "Murder, My Sweet".
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not as good as [b:The Long Goodbye|2054|The Long Goodbye (Philip Marlowe, #6)|Raymond Chandler|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388225584s/2054.jpg|998106]; it did a very good job as a hardboiled detective story, but didn't do much else. It is a very well-crafted crime novel with an amazing plot, and Philip Marlowe was as beautifully cunning and resourceful as he always is. Unfortunately, I am too easily wearied by mystery plots and characters who are never off their game. I enjoyed all of Marlowe's banter, but really, it gets boring when he's all 'oh I know exactly what I'm doing all the time aren't I amazing' and doesn't show any other side but that.
The twist at the end was very good though, and helped me immensely when it came to drawing together the big picture. I don't have a head for putting together all the little pieces, and was a bit lost before the very last scenes hit. Oh, and the dwelling on the futility of love and fortune and the ridiculous things people are willing to do for them was nice.
Nonetheless, I was planning on reading all of these, but now I'm not so sure. I'll get to the other one on the 1001 list at least, and then we'll see. The fact that this edition was all marked up by some offended soul didn't help the reading at all, so I'm hoping the lack of this helps the next book.
The twist at the end was very good though, and helped me immensely when it came to drawing together the big picture. I don't have a head for putting together all the little pieces, and was a bit lost before the very last scenes hit. Oh, and the dwelling on the futility of love and fortune and the ridiculous things people are willing to do for them was nice.
Nonetheless, I was planning on reading all of these, but now I'm not so sure. I'll get to the other one on the 1001 list at least, and then we'll see. The fact that this edition was all marked up by some offended soul didn't help the reading at all, so I'm hoping the lack of this helps the next book.
Un gigante galeotto che, nella ricerca della sua perduta amata si lascia dietro qualche morto di troppo. La solita polizia corruttibile e corrotta, ambigui dottori della psiche, altri dottori, presunti come medici ma certi come spacciatori, il solito Marlowe e una donna così bella che basta una sua foto per "no rispondere più di se stessi". La storia sembra dipanarsi in una direzione, poi si intrica e si complica, e infine si dipana in una scia di cadaveri.
Putroppo il libro risente di una traduzione pericolante, lo cercherò in lingua originale, penso che ne godrò assai di più.
Putroppo il libro risente di una traduzione pericolante, lo cercherò in lingua originale, penso che ne godrò assai di più.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first Chandler and I’m hooked. Yes there’s some language that’s very much of its time but Marlowe as a character has a lot of integrity and there certainly isn’t the casual misogyny you find in Fleming, for instance. The turns of phrase are the stuff of legend.
Hard. Boiled.
Hard. Boiled.