The Big Sleep
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- Create Date：2021-05-05 11:58:43
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Raymond Chandler
- ISBN：0241956285
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Summary
Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is working for the Sternwood family。 Old man Sternwood， crippled and wheelchair-bound， is being given the squeeze by a blackmailer and he wants Marlowe to make the problem go away。 But with Sternwood's two wild， devil-may-care daughters prowling LA's seedy backstreets， Marlowe's got his work cut out - and that's before he stumbles over the first corpse 。 。 。
Best-known as the creator of the original private eye， Philip Marlowe， Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888 and died in 1959。 Many of his books have been adapted for the screen， and he is widely regarded as one of the very greatest writers of detective fiction。 His books include The Big Sleep， The Little Sister， Farewell， My Lovely， The Long Good-bye， The Lady in the Lake， Playback， Killer in the Rain， The High Window and Trouble is My Business。
Best-known as the creator of the original private eye， Philip Marlowe， Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888 and died in 1959。 Many of his books have been adapted for the screen， and he is widely regarded as one of the very greatest writers of detective fiction。 His books include The Big Sleep， The Little Sister， Farewell， My Lovely， The Long Good-bye， The Lady in the Lake， Playback， Killer in the Rain， The High Window and Trouble is My Business。
Reviews
Kit Sheffield
，
One of those books I thought I 'should' read， and it turns， out， it's a good one。 The metaphors still sparkle， even today。 The plot is a little far-fetched in places， but this is not a book you read for the plot， buy for the writing。 One of those books I thought I 'should' read， and it turns， out， it's a good one。 The metaphors still sparkle， even today。 The plot is a little far-fetched in places， but this is not a book you read for the plot， buy for the writing。 。。。more
Aime Dollete
，
Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！ https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC） http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors; hardy@novelstar。top joye@novelstar。top lena@novelstar。top app。novelstar。top Awesome novel。 I love it。 You can join in NovelStar writing contest with a theme "WEREWOLVES" Prices are amazing！ https://author。starlight。ink/essay/in。。。 （PC） http://app。novelstar。top/index/index/。。。 or email any of the following editors; hardy@novelstar。top joye@novelstar。top lena@novelstar。top app。novelstar。top 。。。more
Patrick
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*3 and a half stars*
S。C。 Jensen
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I love Raymond Chandler’s work， though it requires a bit of dissociation to get past the not-so-casual racism and sexism。 I found this one to be worse than his others， particularly with the violently homophobic themes。I can’t say I recommend it。But it’s interesting to read， being his first novel。 You can see the evolution of his style as effected in later works。 Images that repeat。 The beginning of Philip Marlowe’s character。I’ve heard THE BIG SLEEP is actually two novellas that were stitched to I love Raymond Chandler’s work， though it requires a bit of dissociation to get past the not-so-casual racism and sexism。 I found this one to be worse than his others， particularly with the violently homophobic themes。I can’t say I recommend it。But it’s interesting to read， being his first novel。 You can see the evolution of his style as effected in later works。 Images that repeat。 The beginning of Philip Marlowe’s character。I’ve heard THE BIG SLEEP is actually two novellas that were stitched together and it does read a bit as two loosely connected mysteries， but I’m not sure I would have noticed had I not already known it。I love the noir genre。 In particular I love the way it has evolved and adapted to our current world。Neo noir and cyberpunk have been able to use the old hard-boiled tropes in a way that explores income disparities， class schisms， and marginalized experiences in a way you might never guess given its origins。THE BIG SLEEP isn’t my favourite Chandler， but it is certainly a cornerstone in the genre。 Read it if you like to explore older works in the noir detective vein， but know what you’re getting into！ 。。。more
Cristian Keller
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Non mi è piaciuto。 Se non fosse stato per il gruppo di lettura non lo avrei mai finito。 Nella prima parte è veramente difficile seguire la trama。 I personaggi sono tutti die duri。 La gran parte dei dialoghi si basa sul "io sono piu duro di te"。 Da metà in poi migliora leggermente ma nel complesso è molto lontano dal mio gusto Non mi è piaciuto。 Se non fosse stato per il gruppo di lettura non lo avrei mai finito。 Nella prima parte è veramente difficile seguire la trama。 I personaggi sono tutti die duri。 La gran parte dei dialoghi si basa sul "io sono piu duro di te"。 Da metà in poi migliora leggermente ma nel complesso è molto lontano dal mio gusto 。。。more
Jude Rizzi
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Lots of twists and turns introduced with each new character。 Better to read this first before seeing the movie as I couldn’t read a page without the image of Humphrey Bogart。 Not politically correct but not unexpected as it was written over 80 years ago。
cloverandflour
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it’s a classic for a reason。 i struggled to keep track of all the shady characters and secondary locations but that’s a me problem， not a book problem。 4。5 stars only because it seemed improbable that every single woman would find a reason to kiss marlowe （although is this a flaw or is it simply camp？）
Sue
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Mr。 Marlowe’s gibes and quips lured me， tangling me among the twisted plot。 An older time， before alarm systems and security cameras， Chandler portrays a crime ridden Hollywood where Marlowe serves as a slum detective。 Venture back to an era unbeknownst to most of us。
Stephanee
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I would rather see Bogart in this role vs reading the book。
Monica
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Wow， this book was a great read。 I highly recommend it。 want you to know， there is a competition happening this April till the end of May on the NovelStar app。 I hope you can consider joining。 You can also publish your stories there。 just email our editors hardy@novelstar。top， joye@novelstar。top， or lena@novelstar。top。
Anne
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Slang just doesn't age well。 Slang just doesn't age well。 。。。more
Brenda
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I can sometimes enjoy Chandler despite the extreme misogyny and racism。 The language is good and Marlowe is fun for a jerk。 The plot here。。。 just no。 It dragged and lost my interest。
Freya
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I very much enjoyed the writing style of this noir private detective novel， especially the descriptions and the back and forth conversations。 There were a lot of characters to keep track of。 The audiobook narrated by Elliott Gould was a fantastic performance， 5/5 stars for his narration。
Terry
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The Big Sleep drips with classic detective noir。 Philip Marlowe is the archetype for the hardened detective who lives by his own code。 Marlowe walks through the seedier side of a corrupt Los Angeles guided by his own ethical standards。 Chandler paints a vivid portrait of the cityscape as well as the characters that fill the novel。 Not every loose end is wrapped up but that reflects the world in which the book is set。 It is a broken world filled with corruption and justice can be bought or frustr The Big Sleep drips with classic detective noir。 Philip Marlowe is the archetype for the hardened detective who lives by his own code。 Marlowe walks through the seedier side of a corrupt Los Angeles guided by his own ethical standards。 Chandler paints a vivid portrait of the cityscape as well as the characters that fill the novel。 Not every loose end is wrapped up but that reflects the world in which the book is set。 It is a broken world filled with corruption and justice can be bought or frustrated with enough money。 The book is far more complex than the Bogart/Bacall film （an excellent film） and lacks the romantic angle。 The book is also a product of its time and contains some concepts and language that will offend SJWs。 Chandler is a master of setting and the book is one of the best of its genre。 。。。more
Susan
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A well-written， delightfully presented story that has become one of my all-time favorites in the fiction genre。💥 Recommended。🟣
Ryan
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Essential reading for any lovers of the hardboiled dective genre。 Chandler creates a fully fleshed-out character in Marlowe right out of the gates with this one。 Absolute perfection。
Tyler Shaffer
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3。5/5
Chris Wharton
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Another “hard-boiled” detective novel for seniors course。 Well-done atmospheres and moods in various 1930s LA settings， strong characters， sharp dialogue。 Outstanding descriptions， while striking similes and metaphors—“like the newly washed fingers of dead men” and “as carefully as an out-of-work show-girl uses her last good pair of stockings” are a pair from the second chapter—abound。 Plot quite convoluted， and the crimes and bad guys are many （but seemed a bit more real to me than the bird and Another “hard-boiled” detective novel for seniors course。 Well-done atmospheres and moods in various 1930s LA settings， strong characters， sharp dialogue。 Outstanding descriptions， while striking similes and metaphors—“like the newly washed fingers of dead men” and “as carefully as an out-of-work show-girl uses her last good pair of stockings” are a pair from the second chapter—abound。 Plot quite convoluted， and the crimes and bad guys are many （but seemed a bit more real to me than the bird and the bad guys in The Maltese Falcon）。 Four stars （I add this because the goodreads app on my phone sometimes shows my tatings as 1's）。 。。。more
Sagar Jethani
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While I appreciate the fact that Chandler kicked off an entire genre with this one， my God， it groans with excessive detail。
Deborah
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3。5
John R
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extremely cool
Mike
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What did it matter where you lay once you were dead？ In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill？ You were dead， you were sleeping the big sleep， you were not bothered by things like that。 Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you。Having been thoroughly confused by the Hawks-directed， Faulkner-penned film adaptation of this novel， and having enjoyed Altman's The Long Goodbye a lot more （even though I couldn't necessarily explain every plot nuance in that one， either）， I i What did it matter where you lay once you were dead？ In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill？ You were dead， you were sleeping the big sleep， you were not bothered by things like that。 Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you。Having been thoroughly confused by the Hawks-directed， Faulkner-penned film adaptation of this novel， and having enjoyed Altman's The Long Goodbye a lot more （even though I couldn't necessarily explain every plot nuance in that one， either）， I initially thought about just going for the later Chandler novel; but then I figured I might as well start at the beginning， with the first Marlowe story， and I'll get to the iconic The Long Goodbye when I get to it。It was reassuring， however， to hear that I wasn't the only person confused by the Hawks film。 As Eddie Mueller puts it， in his intro to The Big Sleep on Turner Classic Movies， any discussion of the film or the book is pretty much required to include either the word "labyrinthine" or "byzantine。" Supposedly， when Faulkner called Chandler up to ask him who had killed the chauffeur， Chandler replied， "no idea。"I'm no scholar of this kind of fiction， and I'm sure Dashiell Hammet was plenty influential as well， but I can understand why people say that Chandler created an entirely new vocabulary， a new way of seeing Los Angeles and the country itself。 Every so often he lets a character sum things up rather bluntly- "He didn't know the right people。 That's all a police record means in this rotten crime-ridden country"- but mostly it's in the mood， the atmosphere。 Chandler is great with people's faces， the weather， the sky， and things that seem simple （until you try them yourself） like describing a character having breakfast， taking a drink， smoking a cigar。 As others have commented， following the labyrinthine- I mean， byzantine- mystery isn't really the point of this experience。 It's only natural to try， though， and I found （maybe because I was vaguely familiar with the plot elements， from watching the film） that I was able to follow the novel somewhat more easily， even if I still don't know who killed the chauffeur。 That being said， most of the story reminded me of one of Marlowe's chess puzzles- complex without emotional resonance， and hard to care that much about one way or the other。I felt that way until the last couple of chapters。 I wouldn't say that they introduce emotional resonance， exactly， but they reveal information about one of the characters that is pretty shocking， changing our understanding of just about everything that's happened up until then。 They're the wildest chapters in the book， and， if I remember correctly， are entirely omitted from the movie; maybe that's why the movie felt to me like Chinatown might have， without the last thirty minutes。 Far be it from me to second-guess Hawks and Faulkner， but they missed an opportunity to give their film that element of madness that I think it was lacking- an element that makes me curious to read more Chandler。 。。。more
Charlie
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Its kinda neat to find myself reading this little piece of work from the 1930s。 It is the original hard bitten text about a hard bitten American PI in a rough neighbourhood trying to find out information for the nice old guy with cash about his two wayward daughters and what those broads have been up to。 Not the sort of thing I'd want to read many of， but I enjoyed this one， at least partially for the novelty。 I've known for ever that this book and others like it have been around。 I've watched f Its kinda neat to find myself reading this little piece of work from the 1930s。 It is the original hard bitten text about a hard bitten American PI in a rough neighbourhood trying to find out information for the nice old guy with cash about his two wayward daughters and what those broads have been up to。 Not the sort of thing I'd want to read many of， but I enjoyed this one， at least partially for the novelty。 I've known for ever that this book and others like it have been around。 I've watched film noir。 But I've not listened to an unabridged audiobook like this before。 If you want to read this， I'd strongly recommend the audiobook option。 I listened to the one voiced by Ray Porter。 The calm， deep， drawling， American voice is completely appropriate and adds a lot to the atmosphere of the book。 。。。more
Joanne Craig
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Enjoyable and interesting- I was particularly fascinated by the way women are represented in the text- one can p LG be grateful times have changed。
Monica
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Liked the writing。 Highly quotable。 Rest was okay。
Matthew Wentworth
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I mostly read very contemporary works， but this novel is taught at my school and it was on sale， so I figured， "Why not？"。 All things considered， it was a solid little mystery with really catchy， sleuth-related one-liners。 You could definitely tell that it was book from another era and at times those out-dated ideas were a little cringey （like the fact that all of the women were beautiful and threw themselves at the protagonist。。。and， of course， he was always the consummate gentleman）。 However， I mostly read very contemporary works， but this novel is taught at my school and it was on sale， so I figured， "Why not？"。 All things considered， it was a solid little mystery with really catchy， sleuth-related one-liners。 You could definitely tell that it was book from another era and at times those out-dated ideas were a little cringey （like the fact that all of the women were beautiful and threw themselves at the protagonist。。。and， of course， he was always the consummate gentleman）。 However， as a whole it was pretty good。 。。。more
Tara
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“The Big Sleep” started out kind of slow， but once it picked up， it was riveting。 Chandler weaves an intricate plot， creates unique characters， and writes wonderfully witty dialogue。 I wasn’t sure how I’d like this book because I love the film adaptation， but I loved it just as much。
Paula R。 C。 Readman
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Just had to read this classic。 I loved the language of the book， but of course some of it was quite shocking to our modern day views。 A great PRivate detective story。 I enjoyed it
Rhiteek Chatterjee
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I recently read that Raymond Chandler preferred the atmosphere over the plot - a style that set him apart from his peers。 'The Big Sleep' extremities this。 While reading the books， I often myself losing grip over the narrative and getting a bit confused at times。 I was distracted by how wonderfully the British write created the milieu of his hardboiled crime book。 However， this doesn't mean that his narrative is poorly crafted。 The author sets up plots points and slowly builds around， taking tim I recently read that Raymond Chandler preferred the atmosphere over the plot - a style that set him apart from his peers。 'The Big Sleep' extremities this。 While reading the books， I often myself losing grip over the narrative and getting a bit confused at times。 I was distracted by how wonderfully the British write created the milieu of his hardboiled crime book。 However， this doesn't mean that his narrative is poorly crafted。 The author sets up plots points and slowly builds around， taking time out to create engaging characters which ultimately raise the game。 What fascinates me the most is how Chandler intercuts action with dialogue。 As a reader， I was constantly aware of the threat Marlowe faces when characters spoke with their guns in hand。 I couldn't enjoy the novel as much as I wanted to， but I definitely will revisit the novel in times to come。 。。。more
Michael Malone
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Liked it but definitely did not love it。 Despite being a slim 231 pages， the book dragged a bit， and I found it a wee bit hard to follow the intricate plotting。 The noir trappings， including women looking attractive but not having a whole lot to say or do， are a wee bit stale today， though they surely were not when the book published in 1939。Philip Marlowe is a fearless gumshoe in Depression-era Los Angeles。 It has its moments。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Big Sleep
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Big Sleep&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Big Sleep&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0