Wow. This book was great. I thought the hard-boiled style would seem dated, and I thought I wouldn’t be engaged with the story, as I’d seen the Bogart film version a few years before. But I was wrong on both counts. Chandler’s style is smart, funny, and shocking, and the story was changed so much for the movie that there were plenty of moments I was completely unprepared for. The world that Chandler makes in The Big Sleep is full of great characters that seem one-dimensional at first glance but have a lot more to them than meets the eye – even if the characters themselves might disagree. I read Farewell My Lovely right after, and while it was good too, The Big Sleep was definitely my favourite. What a great ride; I could definitely read it again and think I would enjoy it even more.

Definitely hard-boiled and noir as all hell, but I just couldn’t really get fully into it. Plot and atmosphere were excellent, but just couldn’t get myself to care about the characters or the crime(s) like I did with the first Chandler I read, “The High Window”. Kinda reminds me of my reaction to William Gibson, in that I know it’s good, but it just leaves me cold. It is a fine line.

Anyway. I prefer Farewell My Lovely, and The Long Goodbye