A review by daffodilcherry
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book really opened my eyes on how Chandler essentially wrote the book on the hardboiled genre. His descriptions are so witty and funny, and you can't help but love Phillip Marlowe's dry snark. The plot is a little all over the place and difficult to follow, but nicely ties together. I really loved the writing, and highlighted a bunch of great lines, but the book also easily sent me to sleep, take that what you will. Wheelhouses: snarky narrator, hard-boiled detective, femme fatale, it's all connected.

Be aware of period-typical (lightly) racist remarks of black people (which happens within the first chapter) and Indians:
black people are referred to as sh*nes and . At first it's difficult to tell whether Philip is disparaging about them, but as the book goes on it feels like he's sympathetic towards them, and is unimpressed/cynical with the cop who wants to ignore the murder of the black person as "another [black] killing." An Indian goon is described as very sweaty/unpleasant smelling and huge.
I'm white so acknowledge that I'm privileged at being able to read past these things, but if these are likely to upset you I would recommend skipping the relevant chapters or choosing another book.
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