Scan barcode
A review by msand3
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler
5.0
It had been over a decade since I last read Chandler, and what a wonderful reminder of just how clever he is as a prose stylist: witty, fun, and funny. This is one of the most enjoyable hardboiled novels I’ve ever read and definitely my favorite Chandler so far (note: I haven’t yet read [b:The Long Goodbye|2054|The Long Goodbye (Philip Marlowe, #6)|Raymond Chandler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388225584s/2054.jpg|998106]). It is less convoluted in plot than [b:The Big Sleep|2052|The Big Sleep (Philip Marlowe, #1)|Raymond Chandler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1371584712s/2052.jpg|1222673] and [b:The Lady in the Lake|776159|The Lady in the Lake (Philip Marlowe, #4)|Raymond Chandler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501530591s/776159.jpg|1939840], and funnier than [b:Farewell, My Lovely|2050|Farewell, My Lovely (Philip Marlowe, #2)|Raymond Chandler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1465778099s/2050.jpg|1263111]. The dialogue is punchy (pardon the pun) and laugh-out-loud on many pages. Chandler knows he is writing hammy prose, and he plays it up. It takes equal parts talent and courage to go all-in with this kind of writing -- strings of outrageous similes, 1940s slang, and memorable passages that Chandler just owns. There are absolute gems on every page:
“She stood so that I had to practically push her mammaries out of the way to get through the door. She smelled the way the Taj Mahal looks by moonlight.”
****
"[The house had] a general air of having been redecorated by a parolee from a nut hatch. Its color scheme was bile green, linseed-poultice brown, sidewalk gray and monkey-bottom blue. It was as restful as a split lip.”
****
"Never the time and place and the loved one all together," I said.
“What’s that?” She tried to throw me out with the point of her chin, but even she wasn’t that good.
“Browning. The poet, not the automatic. I feel sure you’d prefer the automatic.”
****
I could go on and on. So many fantastic lines filling every page. Highly recommended for fans of crime fiction, noir, detective fiction, or just fun reads.
“She stood so that I had to practically push her mammaries out of the way to get through the door. She smelled the way the Taj Mahal looks by moonlight.”
****
"[The house had] a general air of having been redecorated by a parolee from a nut hatch. Its color scheme was bile green, linseed-poultice brown, sidewalk gray and monkey-bottom blue. It was as restful as a split lip.”
****
"Never the time and place and the loved one all together," I said.
“What’s that?” She tried to throw me out with the point of her chin, but even she wasn’t that good.
“Browning. The poet, not the automatic. I feel sure you’d prefer the automatic.”
****
I could go on and on. So many fantastic lines filling every page. Highly recommended for fans of crime fiction, noir, detective fiction, or just fun reads.