RARA-AVIS: Farewell, My Lovely
James Rogers (jetan@ionet.net)
Thu, 18 Dec 1997 21:27:13 -0600 (CST)
A few thoughts regarding the Chandler reading.
For my money this is the best Chandler novel, and probably the
best P.I
novel ever written, with the exception of Glass Key and Maltese
Falcon,
which are sort of a catagory unto themselves. Falcon was an
"old-fashioned"
detective novel in some ways, with it's eastern treasure *a la*
THE
MOONSTONE, but FML conjures up nothing older than Race
Williams. I like the
sympathetic female supporting character (this is the girl that
Marlowe
really should have married, if anyone) and I especilly like the
strange,
sympathetic relationship between Marlowe and the the doomed
lover Moose
Malloy. It reminds me somehow of the relationship between Nick
Carraway and
Jay Gatsby, or between Marlow and Lord Jim. In the novels
following this,
particularly the ambitious but over-praised LONG GOODBYE,
Marlowe seems
steadily less tough, his sensitivity tipping over into
sentimentality. Never
happens here...by far the best and most balanced of Chandler's
efforts.
James
>#
># To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to
majordomo@icomm.ca.
># The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.
>
>
James Michael Rogers
jetan@ionet.net
#
# To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to
majordomo@icomm.ca.
# The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.