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nilescrane's review against another edition
I tried to listen to this to fulfil a reading challenge prompt for like 'crime/noir', and it's just not the genre for me babes
daley0999's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
belleb1401's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.5
samshirls's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
phoebejazmine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lilypillyreads's review against another edition
4.5
I listened to an audio book when I was in year 12 for an English assignment where I was comparing the idea of masculinity and femininity between classic detectives. I compared this MC (I’ve forgotten his name it’s been awhile, 5 years in fact) with Sherlock Holmes and poriot. I had originally just chosen this book for a third comparison and honestly didn’t think I would like it. But I actually really did, enough for me to pay $12 on YouTube to watch the movie that was based off of it. I found it enjoyable and entertaining. I normally don’t like noir books or American hard boiled crime but I really liked this one. Of course it is a product of its time and it’s filled with femme fatale but that actually was enjoyable for me. I liked the female characters because (while a stereotype of the time) they were unlike modern female characters and I liked the sense of urgency and selfishness they had. Anyway, not for everyone but if a 16 year old Australian girl can like it, you might too.
jthinojosa's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
forgottensecret's review against another edition
4.0
'She was twenty or so, small and delicately put together, but she looked durable... She came over near me and smiled with her mouth and she had little sharp predatory teeth, as white as fresh orange pith and as shiny as porcelain. They glistened between her thin too taut lips. Her face lacked colour and didn't look too healthy.
'Tall, aren't you?' she said.
'I didn't mean to be.'’
Several years ago, I watched every movie that won the Best Picture Oscar. This eventually led to the old film noirs: 'Double Indemnity', 'Sunset Boulevard' and of course, 'The Maltese Falcon'. I had heard of another Humphrey Bogart film, 'The Big Sleep' but had never seen it. I am so glad that I read the book first.
'The Big Sleep' is the first novel of Raymond Chandler to feature the private detective Philip Marlowe. The novel begins with Marlowe accepting a case by the old General Sternwood. His youngest daughter, the thumb-sucking Carmen, is being blackmailed and the General wants the matter dealt with. The novel follows Marlowe in finding the source of the blackmail: the dead body of the bookseller Geiger and its disappearance, a night out at the casino of Eddie Mars with the elder daughter of General Sternwood, Vivian Regan, and Joe Brody's unlucky end.
The story, however, does not end there. The disappearance of Rusty Regan, Vivian's husband and the General's son-in-law lingers in the background. Marlowe cannot let it go. This culminates in the previously scatterbrained Carmen trying to shoot Marlowe with a chamber of blanks. Marlowe had worked out that Carmen shot Regan for rejecting her sexual advances; the detective had earlier also incited revenge by rejecting her unclothed in his bed. The novel ends with Vivian confessing the cover-up of Carmen's crime, and her promise to have her sister instituionalised.
Similar to film-noirs, this book is a mood. I cared less about the plot and more about being in the company of Philip Marlowe. The day-drinking of whisky, indoor smoking, brushing off the advances of women in commitment to the case, the snippy dialogue that is so reminiscent of the old 40s movies - it is all there. Chandler is also an excellent writer. For someone who has read a lot of Haruki Murakami, I can see that the Japanese author's prose has been influenced by Chandler. Chandler writes with such detailed economy and often striking imagery, and did I mention the dialogue? Highly recommended as a great detective novel, but also for those who love film-noir and movies from Classic Hollywood.
'Tall, aren't you?' she said.
'I didn't mean to be.'’
Several years ago, I watched every movie that won the Best Picture Oscar. This eventually led to the old film noirs: 'Double Indemnity', 'Sunset Boulevard' and of course, 'The Maltese Falcon'. I had heard of another Humphrey Bogart film, 'The Big Sleep' but had never seen it. I am so glad that I read the book first.
'The Big Sleep' is the first novel of Raymond Chandler to feature the private detective Philip Marlowe. The novel begins with Marlowe accepting a case by the old General Sternwood. His youngest daughter, the thumb-sucking Carmen, is being blackmailed and the General wants the matter dealt with. The novel follows Marlowe in finding the source of the blackmail: the dead body of the bookseller Geiger and its disappearance, a night out at the casino of Eddie Mars with the elder daughter of General Sternwood, Vivian Regan, and Joe Brody's unlucky end.
The story, however, does not end there. The disappearance of Rusty Regan, Vivian's husband and the General's son-in-law lingers in the background. Marlowe cannot let it go. This culminates in the previously scatterbrained Carmen trying to shoot Marlowe with a chamber of blanks. Marlowe had worked out that Carmen shot Regan for rejecting her sexual advances; the detective had earlier also incited revenge by rejecting her unclothed in his bed. The novel ends with Vivian confessing the cover-up of Carmen's crime, and her promise to have her sister instituionalised.
Similar to film-noirs, this book is a mood. I cared less about the plot and more about being in the company of Philip Marlowe. The day-drinking of whisky, indoor smoking, brushing off the advances of women in commitment to the case, the snippy dialogue that is so reminiscent of the old 40s movies - it is all there. Chandler is also an excellent writer. For someone who has read a lot of Haruki Murakami, I can see that the Japanese author's prose has been influenced by Chandler. Chandler writes with such detailed economy and often striking imagery, and did I mention the dialogue? Highly recommended as a great detective novel, but also for those who love film-noir and movies from Classic Hollywood.
aftooon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fantastic pacing and tantalizing descriptives. This book is intensely cinematic. All the women are sluts and all the men are morons, but otherwise, I learned a lot about detective novels and 1930s slang is the cat's meow (HAVE to start using them in my day-to-day)!