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A review by forgottensecret
Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
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.