Week 1: Farewell My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler

In his character Philip Marlowe, Raymond Chandler set the mold for the archetypal “Hard-Boiled” Detective: a hard-drinking, middle-aged, ex-cop with no family or friends, taking cases for money only to find out that each case is more trouble than it’s worth. Often times, the detective simultaneously works on two, seemingly unrelated, cases, only to ultimately discover that the two are inextricably interconnected.

Marlowe meets Moose Malloy in a bar. Moose is “a big man, but not much more than six feet five inches tall and not wider than a beer truck”. Recently released from jail, Moose is looking for Velma, his lost love. Marlowe takes the case for free, not because he is flushed with cash, but rather, he hasn’t worked in over a month. As Marlowe concedes, “Even a no-charge job was a change".

Two things make Chandler’s novel stand out to me: the setting and the voice of Marlowe, our narrator.

The Hard-Boiled Detective novel is a variation of the traditional “Golden Age” Detective story, like those written by Agatha Christie. The traditional setting of those novels was amid the English aristocracy. One crime would be committed, the detective brought in, and the crime solved by the end. Crime is depicted as a rare occurrence and justice is easy for the detective to meet out.

No so with Chandler’s novels. Instead of English aristocracy, Marlowe investigates crimes committed by both the upper and lower classes alike. Instead of a turn-of-the-century, rural English setting, Marlowe lives in urban, 1940s Los Angeles. Where the golden age detective brings the criminal to justice, as the novel concludes Marlowe concedes that justice is elusive. Where hope delivered at the end of the golden-age story, there is no hope that if Marlowe solves the crime the world will become any safer.

What makes the novel more than a depressing read is the character of Marlowe as he is revealed through his narrative voice. Marlowe’s observations are peppered with clever similes. When describing a pretty girl, Marlowe notes she has "a face you get to like. Pretty, but not so pretty you would have to wear brass knuckles everytime you took it out". Phrases like these are clever shorthanded representations of Marlowe’s character. You learn about Marlowe’s opinion of women and of his own masculinity all within the one sentence.

This novel is an enjoyable read, but one that’s best read in large chunks – when you’re stuck at home on a rainy day. The requisite twists, turns and double-crosses (which are necessary elements of detective stories) are too hard to follow if you’re reading it in bite-sized bits. See it as a banquet novel, not as a snack.

The only problem with reading Chandler’s novels in 2010 is the racism and sexism which was culturally acceptable at the time of writing, but now stands out uncomfortably, (especially when Marlowe uses a now-offensive racial expletive when he first meets Moose Malloy). Apart from those anachronisms, this is a brilliant read, and an enjoyable step back into 1940s Los Angeles, with the witty Philip Marlowe as your tour-guide.


The Penguin Modern Classics page for Farewell My Lovely is here.


Addendum: This week I read Bret Easton Ellis' new novel Imperial Bedrooms. Ellis is one of the authors whose work I analyse in my thesis. While I don't think that his latest novel is a masterpiece by any means, Ellis has mentioned in interviews how much this novel has been influenced by Chandler. Ellis notes that

Nobody expresses the mystery of a despicable moral landscape better than Chandler. Philip Marlowe wants an answer to what's going on but he also wants to protect himself from that knowledge. It's a profound dilemma what we all face: wanting the truth, yet not eanting what comes with it (Sydney Morning Herald, Spectrum. June 26-27 2010).

I couldn't have put it better myself!