Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

Both the noir genre and the hard-boiled detective genre are so iconic these days that they are practically punchlines. The first time this chocolate-and-peanut-butter combo really came together, though, was in Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep.

I’m a fan of both genres although I’ve seen more movies and TV shows than I’ve read books. So this is the first time I’m meeting Chandler’s famous Philip Marlowe. Unlike Dashiell Hammett’s Sam Spade, Marlowe is more of an upstanding guy by our standards. Marlowe is like a knight-errant in the service of his clients. Even though we may not be able to see why his particular clients in this story are so worthy of his sacrifices, he knows he has to continue living by his own code.

This brings romanticism to the character, but we also know of the alienation and bleakness that arise from his choices. As good as he is at what he does, he is not a happy man.

The plot of The Big Sleep is simultaneously brilliant and sloppy. The book is set out as a series of mysteries but these are not the kind of mysteries that you’re supposed to follow along and figure out by the clues left along the way.

I would liken it to what Agatha Christie writes, where the story is enjoyable and the characters are interesting, and really, you may as well relax about the solution to the puzzle because you’re not going to figure it out. The author didn’t create the work with the intention of helping you along.

The Big Sleep has plenty of style and progression of plot, but true mystery aficionados are going to be frustrated.

So what’s so brilliant about the plot then? One, Marlowe succeeds right off the bat, and I can’t elaborate further about that without spoiling the action. Two, Marlowe becomes the mystery, and again, I can’t say any more. Structurally, Chandler has done something so witty and playful here. Unfortunately, an understanding of his humor on this front won’t be possible until the end.

But in the meantime, all throughout the book, Chandler is going to make you smile. There are just great turns in the language.

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1001 Books To Read Before You Die list: 79 down

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