The Big Sleep (72nd Book)

I started and stopped The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler twice before I was finally able to make it all the way through. I am not sure why I had such a hard time with it, but I certainly did. I read this book out of a vintage crime compilation. I am hoping to use the book for my wedding décor which is vintage book themed, and thought that I would like to be done both The Big Sleep and Rebecca in it before I used as table décor on the off chance one of my guests walks off with it. I was excited to realize that the book was a Philip Marlowe book. I spent the summer before I started dating my fiancé solo camping and listening to vintage crime radio plays on my ipod was one of the ways that I filled my time. Philip Marlowe plays were always some of my favourite.

I think part of the trouble with getting into this novel is that you are thrown into the middle of a job he is on and you have to piece together who he is and what is going on. Crime Noir novels are interesting because the private detectives are as much a part of the seedy underworld crime that they try to solve. Their methods are often dubious and they  themselves usually have a very obvious flaw that  makes them rough around the edges. Marlowe is still loveable despite the fact that he is rough around the edges.

This book is a great example of Crime Noir genre. It was hard to get into, but in the end enjoyable. If you haven't listened to a radio play before I highly recommend checking out one of the Philip Marlowe stories on itunes. I believe they are free to download.