I've read each of Raymond Chandler's books several times and, in my opinion, his ability to create atmosphere, memorable characters and, best of all, sharp, crackling dialogue is unsurpassed to this day. No better example of this exists then his first Phillip Marlowe novelThe Big Sleep. Marlowe; a private eye by whose standard all later private eyes would be judged, takes a case involving the shakedown of a dying millionaire for a minor gambling debt but which soon spirals out of control into blackmail, pornography and multiple murders. The story runs deeper then this however and to dismiss it's depth because it is a detective story would be the same as dismissing Oliver Twist as a simple crime tale or The Old Man and the Sea as a fishing story. Generally the is only real criticism directed toward this book by its readers, that its murder plot is too muddled and convoluted, is to my mind an unfair assessment. Yes, the plotline is convoluted, but Chandler was not writing a mystery puzzle, a la Agatha Christie, in which the clues are all gathered and the murderer is exposed in a neat and tidy denouement. The Big Sleep, with its multiple victims and multiple murderers, has more reach to it then that. The dark mirror of Los Angeles that Chandler creates is filled with predators who prey one upon the other. Sometimes these predators act alone and sometimes they seek alliances only to later betray those alliances to their own advantage. Marlowe; the most adept predator of them all, is intelligent, tough and cynical, but still sensitive to the human condition. He is a predator with both compassion and a conscience who seeks no alliances and betrays no one's trust. It's been a pleasure to make his acquaintance once again.Average Grade: A+
