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jamelon13's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
slettlune's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first Chandler book and while I was blown away by the sheer amount of hardboilderisms on every page ("Suspicion climbed all over her face like a kitten, but not so playfully...") I quickly lost my grip on the plot right around the third or fourth tangent -- apparently Chandler cobbled this book together from several unrelated stories and I think it shows. I enjoyed the setup and the first chapters immensely, though.
I followed the audiobook as read by Elliot Gould who played Marlowe in The Long Goodbye (1973), not my favourite Chandler movie adaptation by any shot, but Gould's got that nice tough guy noir sneer and gives the supporting cast delightfully distinctive voices and cadences, it wasn't hard to tell characters apart even though I couldn't always follow the plot.
I followed the audiobook as read by Elliot Gould who played Marlowe in The Long Goodbye (1973), not my favourite Chandler movie adaptation by any shot, but Gould's got that nice tough guy noir sneer and gives the supporting cast delightfully distinctive voices and cadences, it wasn't hard to tell characters apart even though I couldn't always follow the plot.
forgottensecret's review
4.0
'I put the light on her face and she blinked. It was a small neat vibrant face with large eyes. A face with bone under the skin, fine drawn like a Cremona violin. A very nice face.
‘Your hair’s red,’ I said. ‘You look Irish.’
‘And my name’s Riordan. So what? Put that light out. It’s not red, it’s auburn.’
I put it out. ‘What’s your first name?’
‘Anne. And don’t call me Annie.’'
'Farewell, My Lovely' is the second novel by Raymond Chandler to feature private detective Philip Marlowe. Like many of his other novels about Marlowe, Chandler pored through his short stories and stretched them to make a novel. This in no way taints the writing, and Marlowe is quickly becoming one of my favourite literary characters.
Set in the fictional town of Bay City, Marlowe is on the case again. This one he stumbles into by following the conspicuous six foot five Moose Malloy through the doors of a nightclub Florian's. An ex-convict, he is looking for his ex-girlfriend Velma Valento. The club kept the same name but changed owners, which leads to no information on Velma and Malloy killing the owner.
The elements of mystery begin. An unrelated character called Lindsay Marriott phones up Marlowe to help protect him in a ransom job. That quickly leads to Marlowe unconscious and Marriott dead. But the distress of Marlowe being knocked unconscious is short, as the delightful Anne Riordan turns up pointing a gun and a flashlight at him. Anne reminded me of Rosalind Russel in 'His Girl Friday'. She has auburn hair, not red, and is the daughter of a cop; her and Marlowe's dialogue is the quintessential screwball comedy type.
The rest of the story involves Marlowe tracking down Moose Malloy. In that period, there is a malevolent psychic, someone dopes Marlowe up and puts him in a private hospital, Marlowe sneaks on a gambling boat headed by Laird Brunette, the reveal of Velma, and an eventual kiss between Anne and Marlowe.
Chandler yet again crafts such an enjoyable novel. I look forward to more in the series.
‘Your hair’s red,’ I said. ‘You look Irish.’
‘And my name’s Riordan. So what? Put that light out. It’s not red, it’s auburn.’
I put it out. ‘What’s your first name?’
‘Anne. And don’t call me Annie.’'
'Farewell, My Lovely' is the second novel by Raymond Chandler to feature private detective Philip Marlowe. Like many of his other novels about Marlowe, Chandler pored through his short stories and stretched them to make a novel. This in no way taints the writing, and Marlowe is quickly becoming one of my favourite literary characters.
Set in the fictional town of Bay City, Marlowe is on the case again. This one he stumbles into by following the conspicuous six foot five Moose Malloy through the doors of a nightclub Florian's. An ex-convict, he is looking for his ex-girlfriend Velma Valento. The club kept the same name but changed owners, which leads to no information on Velma and Malloy killing the owner.
The elements of mystery begin. An unrelated character called Lindsay Marriott phones up Marlowe to help protect him in a ransom job. That quickly leads to Marlowe unconscious and Marriott dead. But the distress of Marlowe being knocked unconscious is short, as the delightful Anne Riordan turns up pointing a gun and a flashlight at him. Anne reminded me of Rosalind Russel in 'His Girl Friday'. She has auburn hair, not red, and is the daughter of a cop; her and Marlowe's dialogue is the quintessential screwball comedy type.
The rest of the story involves Marlowe tracking down Moose Malloy. In that period, there is a malevolent psychic, someone dopes Marlowe up and puts him in a private hospital, Marlowe sneaks on a gambling boat headed by Laird Brunette, the reveal of Velma, and an eventual kiss between Anne and Marlowe.
Chandler yet again crafts such an enjoyable novel. I look forward to more in the series.
criminolly's review
5.0
The persistent racism is awful, but everything else about this book is magnificent. The plot is fantastic, the characters brilliant and the hardboiled writing breathtaking at times.
lazyreaderfromk's review
3.0
I read this after big sleep. Chandler works are exceptional pieces of fiction. I like Marlowe, his sence of humor and at time cynical attitude. The overall experience of the novel was good and I am probably, no certainly going to read the next book in the series after this.
lada2104's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
kaazi's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
thinkspink's review
4.0
Well written, and memorable characters, but it feels of its time now. Best part for me was reading the description of old Californis
writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition
3.0
This is the second book in the Philip Marlowe series and I liked it, but not as much as The Big Sleep. I think I just liked the characters better in The Big Sleep, plus I have all those fond memories of watching Bogart and Bacall in the movie. For the most part I enjoy the nostalgic feeling of going back in time to the 1940s when I read these. And, as I said, it also brings back fond memories of watching the old film noir movies that were made from them.
I have to add that this book is definitely a product of its time. There's lots of smoking and drinking and attitudes about certain things were different then. There were several terms used that would never be used today, including racial slurs. In the beginning, I had forgotten I was reading a vintage book that could very likely have those things in it, and it caught me off guard. It's a hard boiled detective book written in 1940, so keep that in mind if you read it.
One thing I enjoy the most about these books are the inner thoughts of Philip Marlow. I get a good chuckle out of it most of the time. It's just so quotable. I could add so many quotes into my review, but it's better to just discover them while reading, so I've only included a few.
“He smiled his first smile of the day. He probably allowed himself four...He was doing an awful lot of smiling that day. Using up a whole week's supply.”
I remembered in the movie that Marlowe gets pretty roughed up, more than once, and it really does happen in the book. I watched the 1944 version of this Starring Dick Powell that was retitled Murder, My Sweet. There were several changes made for that movie version, but I still like it. Originally, I didn't like Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe as much as a couple of the other actors that played him, but after reading a couple of the books I think he's closer to what Raymond Chandler had in mind than the other actors.
“Time passed again. I don't know how long. I had no watch. They don't make that kind of time in watches anyway.”
“It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.”
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.
I have to add that this book is definitely a product of its time. There's lots of smoking and drinking and attitudes about certain things were different then. There were several terms used that would never be used today, including racial slurs. In the beginning, I had forgotten I was reading a vintage book that could very likely have those things in it, and it caught me off guard. It's a hard boiled detective book written in 1940, so keep that in mind if you read it.
One thing I enjoy the most about these books are the inner thoughts of Philip Marlow. I get a good chuckle out of it most of the time. It's just so quotable. I could add so many quotes into my review, but it's better to just discover them while reading, so I've only included a few.
“He smiled his first smile of the day. He probably allowed himself four...He was doing an awful lot of smiling that day. Using up a whole week's supply.”
I remembered in the movie that Marlowe gets pretty roughed up, more than once, and it really does happen in the book. I watched the 1944 version of this Starring Dick Powell that was retitled Murder, My Sweet. There were several changes made for that movie version, but I still like it. Originally, I didn't like Dick Powell as Philip Marlowe as much as a couple of the other actors that played him, but after reading a couple of the books I think he's closer to what Raymond Chandler had in mind than the other actors.
“Time passed again. I don't know how long. I had no watch. They don't make that kind of time in watches anyway.”
“It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.”
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.