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wilderthanFarewell, My Lovely
Raymond Chandler's writing remains the absolute best thing about this book. It lends a lot of character to Philip Marlowe who, in the hands of another writer, wouldn't be nearly so interesting. It's funny reading Chandler and realising that a lot of books I've read before were influenced by him. There's racism and misogyny and it's kind of like a time capsule from times and places I'll never see, but what I read it for is the writing style: the crisp images, the lack of cliche, the precise choice of words. Speaking synaesthetically, it tastes nice.
Somewhere in the middle I lost track of exactly what was happening and why, in between all the different parties and the (rightly) confused parts with Marlowe all drugged up and a bit incoherent. Anne Riordan isn't a bad woman or an unlikeable character, but she doesn't seem to have much point in the plot, either.
It's easy to read, even when you don't really get what's going on. It all comes straight in the end, more or less.
The High Window
Had to laugh when I found reviews saying nobody ever reads Chandler for his plot. It's probably true, at least once you know what you're getting into. There are parts of the books where I have no idea what's going on but I'm still hanging on because the way he writes is so amazing. I think I say this in every review of his books, though. This one had some awesome phrases in it -- the description of Marlowe as a "shop-soiled Galahad" particularly struck me, and "women who should be young but have faces like stale beer".
I actually found the character of Merle one of the most interesting things about this novel, though -- the attention paid to carefully building up her backstory and character. Structurally, I think this book is better than The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely -- although in all of them I've been able to keep a better grip on the plot than I'd expected of myself.
I don't read Chandler to find out whodunnit, though. That's almost immaterial.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Another collection of short stories about Sherlock Holmes. Again, they're all narrated by Watson; there's a good variety of different cases, some more interesting than others; like the other short stories they avoid the errors in structure of the novels...
The most noteworthy story of this collection is perhaps the last, at least in terms of cultural impact. It heralds the appearance (and death) of Moriarty. It's funny, given how often people refer to Moriarty, how little build-up he got. It would have made a stronger story if there'd been some foreshadowing, in the other novels or short stories, of Moriarty's existence. It would have been a more impactful story if Watson had got there in time to see something of it, too. Watson's feelings about it cause a little wrench, but it'd be quite an undramatic end for Sherlock -- well, it'd be quite a dramatic end if the reader "saw" it, but we don't.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
I read this before when I was younger, so none of it was exactly surprising to me. It's better than the other two Holmes novels I've read: the structure is better, that is to say, although I also enjoyed the story a little more, probably because it's so iconic and because I remembered somewhat of what's supposed to be going on. Sherlock has less of a spotlight in this, I suppose, since Watson goes about on his own and investigates, but of course, it's Holmes that figures out everything at the end. I actually found the last chapter or so, the explanation, unnecessarily -- although that's probably because I've read it before, so I knew the significance of details like the boots.
Like the other Holmes stories and novels, though, this is easy to read and fun and kinda hard to put down.
Raymond Chandler's writing remains the absolute best thing about this book. It lends a lot of character to Philip Marlowe who, in the hands of another writer, wouldn't be nearly so interesting. It's funny reading Chandler and realising that a lot of books I've read before were influenced by him. There's racism and misogyny and it's kind of like a time capsule from times and places I'll never see, but what I read it for is the writing style: the crisp images, the lack of cliche, the precise choice of words. Speaking synaesthetically, it tastes nice.
Somewhere in the middle I lost track of exactly what was happening and why, in between all the different parties and the (rightly) confused parts with Marlowe all drugged up and a bit incoherent. Anne Riordan isn't a bad woman or an unlikeable character, but she doesn't seem to have much point in the plot, either.
It's easy to read, even when you don't really get what's going on. It all comes straight in the end, more or less.
The High Window
Had to laugh when I found reviews saying nobody ever reads Chandler for his plot. It's probably true, at least once you know what you're getting into. There are parts of the books where I have no idea what's going on but I'm still hanging on because the way he writes is so amazing. I think I say this in every review of his books, though. This one had some awesome phrases in it -- the description of Marlowe as a "shop-soiled Galahad" particularly struck me, and "women who should be young but have faces like stale beer".
I actually found the character of Merle one of the most interesting things about this novel, though -- the attention paid to carefully building up her backstory and character. Structurally, I think this book is better than The Big Sleep and Farewell, My Lovely -- although in all of them I've been able to keep a better grip on the plot than I'd expected of myself.
I don't read Chandler to find out whodunnit, though. That's almost immaterial.
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Another collection of short stories about Sherlock Holmes. Again, they're all narrated by Watson; there's a good variety of different cases, some more interesting than others; like the other short stories they avoid the errors in structure of the novels...
The most noteworthy story of this collection is perhaps the last, at least in terms of cultural impact. It heralds the appearance (and death) of Moriarty. It's funny, given how often people refer to Moriarty, how little build-up he got. It would have made a stronger story if there'd been some foreshadowing, in the other novels or short stories, of Moriarty's existence. It would have been a more impactful story if Watson had got there in time to see something of it, too. Watson's feelings about it cause a little wrench, but it'd be quite an undramatic end for Sherlock -- well, it'd be quite a dramatic end if the reader "saw" it, but we don't.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
I read this before when I was younger, so none of it was exactly surprising to me. It's better than the other two Holmes novels I've read: the structure is better, that is to say, although I also enjoyed the story a little more, probably because it's so iconic and because I remembered somewhat of what's supposed to be going on. Sherlock has less of a spotlight in this, I suppose, since Watson goes about on his own and investigates, but of course, it's Holmes that figures out everything at the end. I actually found the last chapter or so, the explanation, unnecessarily -- although that's probably because I've read it before, so I knew the significance of details like the boots.
Like the other Holmes stories and novels, though, this is easy to read and fun and kinda hard to put down.
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Date: 2010-01-17 12:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 12:27 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 12:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 12:36 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 12:43 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 12:51 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 12:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 01:43 am (UTC)I suspect that Moriarty has become as a big a cult figure as he is because of how the character is portrayed in the various movies. Holmes fandom is massive, but many of the things it takes for granted are things that were invented for the century of Holmes movies, rather than for the original books. The movies can get ridiculous, too; for example, in the 1940s, Holmes spent several movies fighting the Nazis.
One spin-off that I have been keen to get my hands on: The Seven Per Cent Solution by Nicholas Meyer, a '70s take on the Holmes legend that has the detective meet Sigmund Freud. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-01-17 01:58 am (UTC)Mm, I know that Moriarty is a much bigger thing in the movies. Still, there's usually a reason why a particular figure is popular, why it works well, and I wonder about that.