Big Chandler collection featuring four stories (including his best, "Red Wind") and two complete novels: The Little Sister and The Long Goodbye. I've already reviewed the former here at LibraryThing (I believe that it's Chandler's weakest book, and he concurred), and all you need to know about the latter is that it represents Chandler's finest moment as a hard-boiled crime author. A lot of extra work went into The Long Goodbye, and it shows; he knew that he was writing his masterpiece. The main points of interest for me were "Blackmailers Don't Shoot" (his 1933 writing debut) and "The Pencil" (the first Marlowe short story in two decades, completed just before Chandler's death in 1959 and published shortly thereafter).

Chandler was always very precious about his own work and often harshly critical of the work of others. Despite his admission that he owed his entire career to Dashiell Hammett, he complained that Hammett's writing "had no overtones, left no echo, evoked no image beyond a distant hill." What the fuck does that mean, exactly? Chandler was prone to making such vague statements, evidently in the hope that they sounded clever and profound, and critics have mostly failed to challenge them. But I'm going to rake Chandler over the coals on this one because he deserves it. What he meant to say is, "Hammett was okay, and of course he did it first, but I did it better." And it would have sounded less snide and more intellectually honest if he had said it plainly, instead of hiding behind all that horseshit about echoes and distant hills. Make no mistake: Chandler did owe everything to Hammett, and nowhere is that fact more obvious than in "Blackmailers Don't Shoot." It's full of shadowy, languid characters who don't sound like real people--characters whose eyes are actually described as violet or yellow in color. (Violet eyes occur only in albinism.) There's just enough action to make the story readable, but the long, sleepy, in-between parts are painfully overwritten and difficult to wade through. It's a meticulous, self-conscious imitation of Hammett circa The Maltese Falcon, and serves as a reminder that Chandler's admiration for Hammett is what inspired him to write in the first place. "No overtones"? That's a matter of opinion, but Chandler forged a pretty nice career by emulating Hammett's allegedly limited style.

Which brings us to "The Pencil," the final piece of writing that Chandler completed. By this time he realized that marrying Marlowe off to Linda Loring had been a mistake, and abandoned Poodle Springs altogether to focus on this story. Linda has been memory-holed, making way for the unexpected return of Anne Riordan (the heroine of Chandler's second novel Farewell, My Lovely, published nineteen years earlier). Knowing that his former partners in crime are determined to gun him down, a mobster hires Marlowe to get him safely out of Los Angeles. It seems like an odd sort of job for Marlowe, as Anne is quick to point out, but the money's good. Naturally, things soon go south and Marlowe finds himself between a rock and a hard place. "The Pencil" is not a great installment in the Marlowe saga, but it's a fun read and a welcome return to form after 1958's somewhat underwhelming Playback.

This book is a terrific starting point if you're new to Chandler. While I'm unwilling to overlook his flaws, there's no doubt that he was a great writer. (So was Hammett, without whom there would have been no soreheaded, egotistical Raymond Chandler. And Ross Macdonald, who became not just a great but a miraculous writer, eclipsed them both.) ( )

This is an odd little collection of Chandler's work, some long stories or short novellas depending on your definition and two novels. All but one feature Philip Marlowe and even in the one that doesn't (Blackmailers Don't Shoot) you can see the beginnings of the Marlowe stories. That one is written in third person however, something very common for the time. Less common was the first person viewpoint that the Marlowe stories are in. For an aficionado or even a casual reader, this is a good start.

Notes on some of the stories -
Red Wind - yeah, her name just had to be Lola. What a softie M is, switching the good fake pearls out for really bad ones so she won't know her beloved gave her fakes.

Trouble is my Business - Noticing some of Chandler's stock phrases - Napoleon's tomb, tailor made suits, prologue to Pagliacci, throw a scare into him among others. Once again M talks to someone on the phone, shows up to meet him and he turns up dead. And again there's a twitchy bad guy who isn't allowed a gun. Until later.

Blackmailer's Don't Shoot - what a line! "Her eyes looked like the prelude to a scream."

The Pencil - Ah M, still hell with women I see. And forever at gunpoint it seems. Another gem - "He smiled at me, but he wasn't good at it." Chandler is fond of the Colt Woodsman.

The Little Sister - My favorite Chandler. Have read it at least 1/2 dozen times complete, but often pick it up, turn to a page and read a delicious Marlowe vignette. The plot is perfectly tight. The action is relentless. The characters fairly leap off the page as does the atmosphere. No one can be trusted. Marlowe is jaded and beat up by the world. His cynicism is bone deep and the sarcastic one liners just keep coming. Over the years his relationship with the cops and with women has not improved. But he keeps trying. This is as good as it gets. Love it. This is definitely one of my "island books".

Every time I read it, I find some nugget of wonderful prose like - "I got my feet off the desk, stood up and looked out. There she was. And nobody ever looked less like Lady Macbeth. ... She was wearing a brown tailor-made and from a strap over her shoulder hung one of those awkward-looking square bags that make you think of a Sister of Mercy taking first aid to the wounded. On the smooth brown hair was a hat that had been taken from its mother too young."

Omg. just great stuff. I love this book.

I don't have any notes on The Long Goodbye yet...forthcoming. ( )

Collection of Chandler including his essay "The Fine Art of Murder" the short stories Red Wind, Trouble is my business, Blackmailers Don't Shoot, and The Pencil, and the novels The Little Sister and The Long Goodbye. ( )