The World of Raymond Chandler: In His Own Words

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This is a wonderful book for Chandler fans and a nice introduction to Chandler’s writing style and wit for others. Raymond Chandler is in the pantheon of detective fiction writers. He wrote eight novels in which he featured famous detective, Philip Marlowe, nine short story collections and six screenplays, most famously; Double Indemnity and Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. Chandler was known to be difficult and both Hitchcock and Billy Wilder elected not to work with him again.

This book is not a biography but a collections of Chandler’s writing in letters, stories and interviews. That being said, it reads very well even when the editor links Chandler’s characters with his private life. It also includes atmospheric pictures of Los Angeles and Santa Monica in Chandler’s time. One of the most humorous inclusions is Chandler’s collection of slang vernacular such as “Chicago lightning” (gunfire) and over-the-top metaphors such as “a soft voice, soft and dry, like the rustle of well-worn leather.” One of my favorite Chandler quotes is “If my books had been any worse, I should not have been invited to Hollywood, and if they had been any better, I should not have come.” Totally
enjoyable.


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Author
Star Count 5/5
Format Hard
Page Count 250 pages
Publisher Knopf
Publish Date 2014-Nov-02
ISBN 9780385352369
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue January 2015
Category Biographies & Memoirs
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