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A review by thekarpuk
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler
3.0
It was either the third or the fourth time a dame, in a fit of histrionics kissed Philip Marlowe that I became slightly exasperated.
Don't get me wrong, [b:Raymond Chandler|2052|The Big Sleep|Raymond Chandler|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AGA624Z5L._SL75_.jpg|1222673] is a good writer, his prose is packed with cleverness to the point of overflowing, the dialogue snaps, and everything has the cool sleazy vibe of old time Hollywood.
But even one of the characters points out how baffling it is that ladies just seem to want to lock lips with sadsack detective Philip Marlowe.
Otherwise, the writing is gutter poetry, something worth savoring and as an amateur writer I find it well worth studying.
My only issue, and this seems to be an issue with Noir in particular, is that I have trouble constructing the crime in my head. I could give you a blow by blow of all the events of the book, but somehow I often come away fuzzy on the details of the mystery all the characters were circling around.
I know that the search for missing Big Brother is just the MacGuffin around which a lot of cool talk and snazzy descriptions happen, but I can't tell if my uncertainty about the nature of the crimes committed over the course of the book is Chandler's fault or mine.
But it was fun to read, and since I already bought "The Big Sleep" I know I'm going to revisit this particular author, but sometimes with noir I feel like I'm watching an untranslated Kung Fu movie. It's all really cool and stylish, but damned if I'm 100% sure why they're doing it.
Don't get me wrong, [b:Raymond Chandler|2052|The Big Sleep|Raymond Chandler|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41AGA624Z5L._SL75_.jpg|1222673] is a good writer, his prose is packed with cleverness to the point of overflowing, the dialogue snaps, and everything has the cool sleazy vibe of old time Hollywood.
But even one of the characters points out how baffling it is that ladies just seem to want to lock lips with sadsack detective Philip Marlowe.
Otherwise, the writing is gutter poetry, something worth savoring and as an amateur writer I find it well worth studying.
My only issue, and this seems to be an issue with Noir in particular, is that I have trouble constructing the crime in my head. I could give you a blow by blow of all the events of the book, but somehow I often come away fuzzy on the details of the mystery all the characters were circling around.
I know that the search for missing Big Brother is just the MacGuffin around which a lot of cool talk and snazzy descriptions happen, but I can't tell if my uncertainty about the nature of the crimes committed over the course of the book is Chandler's fault or mine.
But it was fun to read, and since I already bought "The Big Sleep" I know I'm going to revisit this particular author, but sometimes with noir I feel like I'm watching an untranslated Kung Fu movie. It's all really cool and stylish, but damned if I'm 100% sure why they're doing it.