: The problem I had the first time I read Farewell My Lovely
was that
: when I came to this novel I had already read the
"cannibalized"
: stories in "Killer in the Rain" (in fact, this book was my
first
: introduction to Chandler way back when).
I'd read all the novels, and considered myself a fan of
Chandler,
before I found _Killer in the Rain_. It was very interesting
to read
the stories he lifted, although I found it a little strange
to read
the same story, but different. It's been years since then,
though,
and I've forgotten them, so when I read _Farewell, My Lovely_
I just
had memories of the last time I'd read it, which was a few
years ago.
: We are lucky in that Chandler is endlessly re-readable. But
isn't
: that the best sign of a great author?
I think so, although sometimes it indicates a book that
brings back
memories of an enjoyable first reading, or has some special
personal
resonance. With Chandler, though, it's mostly because he's
such a
good writer.
Scenes like this are some of my favourites:
She reached into her bag and slid a photograph across
the
desk, a five-by-three glazed still.
It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in
a
stained glass window. She was wearing street clothes
that
looked black and white, and a hat to match and she looked
a
little haughty, but not too much. Whatever you needed,
wherever you happened to be - she had it. About thirty years
old.
I poured a fast drink and burned my throat getting it
down.
"Take it away," I said. "I'll start jumping."
"Why, I got it for you. You'll want to see her, won't
you?"
I looked at it again. Then I slid it under the blotter.
"How
about tonight at eleven?"
"Listen, this isn't just a bunch of gag lines, Mr. Marlowe.
I
called her up. She'll see you. On business."
"It may start out that way."
She made an impatient gesture, so I stopped fooling around
and
got my battle-scarred frown back on my face.
I was querying some search engines on J.B. Priestley today,
and came
across "45 Calibrations of Raymond Chandler," by Peter Straub
(!). I
quote:
34. He invented a first-person voice remarkable for its
sharpness
and accuracy of observation, its attention to musical
cadence,
purity of syntax and unobtrusive rightness of word order,
a
metaphorical richness often consciously self-parodic, its
finely
adjusted speed of movement, sureness of touch and its
capacity to
remain internally consistent and true to itself over a
great
emotional range. This voice proved to be unimaginably
influential
during his lifetime and continues to be so now. Real
earned
authority sometimes has that effect.
The whole thing is at http://www.conjunctions.com/archives/c29-ps.htm.
Bill
--
William Denton | Toronto, Canada | http://www.vex.net/~buff/ | Caveat lector.
"It is better to incur a mild rebuke than to perform an onerous task."
-- "Uncle" Oswald Hendryks Cornelius
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