The Big Sleep (Classic bestseller)
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The Big Sleep (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angeles
The story is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. The title is a euphemism for death; the final pages of the book refer to a rumination about “sleeping the big sleep”.
In 1999, the book was voted 96th of Le Monde and #39;s “100 Books of the Century”. In 2005, it was included in Time magazine and #39;s “List of the 100 Best Novels”.
ASIN : B086QX4Q88
Publisher : Aegitas
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : April 3, 2020
Language : English
File size : 678 KB
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 177 pages
ISBN-13 : 978-0369401229
Page Flip : Enabled
Part of series : Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Anniversary Edition
Reading age : 16 years and up
Best Sellers Rank: #11,385 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #49 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Books) #57 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Books) #70 in Private Investigator Mysteries (Kindle Store)
Customer Reviews: 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 10,714 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers say
Customers praise the book’s masterful storytelling and consider it one of the best pieces of noir fiction, with well-developed plot twists and turns among multiple interesting characters. The writing style receives positive feedback for its economy of words and distinctive dialogue that delivers plenty of chuckles. Customers describe it as a wonderful old classic with a distinctive 1940s look, and appreciate its sturdy paperback format. The pacing receives mixed reviews, with some finding it well-paced while others note it can be convoluted at times.
7 reviews for The Big Sleep (Classic bestseller)
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Original price was: $17.00.$11.99Current price is: $11.99.
Glynn Young –
A classic of American noir
âThe Big Sleepâ is a classic of mystery, a classic of noir, and even a classic of American literature. Published in 1939, itâs the first novel in which author Raymond Chandler (1888-1959) featured his famous detective Philip Marlowe, and it set the stage for the Marlowe novels that followed. The novel was also the basis for the 1946 film of the same name starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.Marlowe, a private detective, is hired by ailing General Sternwood to find out why a blackmailer is asking for money concerning one of his daughters. Sternwood made in money in the Southern California oilfields; his estate even includes pumping well (tastefully hidden from view of the palatial house). His son-in-law also seems to have disappeared, but no one seems terribly concerned about it. Marlowe is told to stick to the blackmail request.The private detective makes use of clues and his many contacts to track the blackmailer to what appears to be a rare and antique book shop but is a front for a lucrative pornography business. Marlowe soon finds himself sucked into the Los Angeles underworld of pornography, gambling, violence, missing witnesses, and the glamour that disguises all of it.Marlowe is a fascinating detective. An outstanding graduate of the hardboiled detective school, he uses his tough-guy, no-nonsense exterior to harbor democratic ideals and a desire for good to triumph. Heâs often compelled to chase down a wrong thatâs been done, even when his employer tells him not to. It often leads to another feature of the ambiguousness of the culture highlighted in The Big Sleep â where the good buys and bad guys frequently change places.Chandlerâs Philip Marloweâs novels also include âFarewell, My Lovelyâ (1940), âThe High Windowâ (1942), âThe Lady in the Lakeâ (1943), âThe Little Sisterâ (1949), âThe Long Goodbyeâ (1953), and âPlaybackâ (1958). He also worked as a Hollywood screenwriter, writing the scripts for such movies as âDouble Indemnity,â âThe Blue Dahlia,â and âStrangers on a Train.â Many of his short stories were published as collections. He died in 1959 at La Jolla, California.âThe Big Sleepâ is one of the milestones of American mystery fiction. It occasionally included descriptions and terms that were commonly used in the 1930s and 1940s but would cause many readers to wince today. But itâs a fascinating read, opening a window on life and culture in southern California at the time and giving us one of the great hardboiled detectives of American mystery fiction.
Gary Griffiths –
“Tough Like Some Guys Think They Are Tough”
Before Jim Thompson’s nihilistic, tough guy crime fiction, and long before smart-talking private detectives like Robert Crais’ Elvis Cole or Dennis Lehane’s Patrick Kenzie, there was Raymond Chandler and his prototype hard boiled PI, Phillip Marlowe. While Hammett’s Sam Spade pre-dates Marlowe’s 1939 debut here in “The Big Sleep”, Chandler – through Marlowe – is arguably the standard by which all others are measured, the author who could credibly lay claim as the master of the irreverent maverick sleuth: the fast-fisted, impossibly clever, dame-magnet which so many have since sought to emulate. Less debatable is Chandler’s mastery the style and the elegance of prose that he introduced to pulp fiction – sharp and lean as one would expect of the genre, but rich in simile and image and as readable today as it was nearly seven decades ago.In “The Big Sleep”, in what looks like a routine case, Marlowe is summoned by a fatally ill millionaire to track down a blackmailer holding compromising pictures of one of his two wayward adult daughters. Chandler gets right to the point in spinning a tale of thugs and hit men trading in pornography and gambling, leading to more murders than a Mel Gibson movie and dalliances sleazy enough to make Bill Clinton blush. Still, while the violence and sex is quaint by today’s no-holds-barred onslaught, it is no less effective – consider the terror of the shower screen in Hitchcock’s brilliant “Psycho” – one of film’s most disturbing moments, though the knife is never seen striking flesh.In fairness, “The Big Sleep” is not Chandler’s finest moment. The initial transgression seems neatly wrapped up with nearly half of the book to go, and one wonders what Marlowe is doing as he aimlessly kicks around what seem to be meaningless loose ends in a rather muddled middle of the book. But Chandler’s craft keeps the reader engaged, wrapping up with a few clever twists and enough (barely) of the irony these early masters of pulp fiction are so well noted for.If you’re a fan of pop crime fiction and haven’t gone back to read Chandler (or Thompson, Hammett, Block, Westlake, McBain…), you’ve got some real treats ahead of you. Great entertainment, while at the same time a peak into the roots and inspiration for so many of today’s best crime writers.
Matt Jenkins –
“Neither of the two people in the room paid any attention to the way I came in, although only one of them was dead.”–from the back coverThe Big Sleep is the first of Raymond Chandler’s novels featuring the definitive hardboiled PI Philip Marlowe. Having been asked by General Sternwood to deal with a blackmailer, Marlowe enters the world of gangsters, femmes fatale, pornography, blackmail and murder, in this classic noir novel. Chandler’s writing is descriptive and evocative but also humorous. Indeed, Chandler’s prose is what makes the Marlowe novels something special.”Raymond Chandler is a master.”–The New York Times”[Chandler] wrote as if pain hurt and life mattered.”–The New Yorker”Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious.”–Robert B. Parker, The New York Times Book Review”Philip Marlowe remains the quintessential urban private eye.”–Los Angeles Times”Raymond Chandler was one of the finest prose writers of the twentieth century. . . . Age does not wither Chandler’s prose. . . . He wrote like an angel.”–Literary Review”[T]he prose rises to heights of unselfconscious eloquence, and we realize with a jolt of excitement that we are in the presence of not a mere action tale teller, but a stylist, a writer with a vision.”–Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Review of BooksFor those who like Chandler’s ‘Marlowe’ books the following is a list of his works:The Big Sleep (1939)Farewell, My Lovely (1940)The High Window: A Philip Marlowe Mystery (1942)The Lady in the Lake (A Philip Marlowe Novel) (1943)The Little Sister: A Philip Marlowe Mystery (1949)The Long Good-bye (1953)Playback (1958)Trouble is My Business (a collection of short stories featuring Philip Marlowe. Originally published before The Big Sleep between 1934-1939)Also available is the classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart The Big Sleep [1946] [DVD] and an audio book version The Big Sleep (Classic Chandler).
Mario Manus –
The product looks perfect
Amazon Customer –
Great book, most of all because of the great dialogues and characters.Even if it was written more than 80 years ago, it’s still actual.
Jose –
chato
Awen APS, SL –
No hay mucho que objetar, tiene todo lo que esperas de un clásico. Lo recomiendo para cualquier persona que le gusta la novela negra.