MobileRead Discussion: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

pilotbob · 08-20-2010, 03:35 PM

So... what did you think?

BOb

Quake1028 · 08-20-2010, 04:16 PM

Well, I for one was really disappointed in the book. Not in the sense that I had ever read Chandler and was let down that way, because I had not. I was disappointed because I had heard good things about the author not only here, but other sites as well. My main complaints with the book:

1.It seemed to me to be disjointed and all over the place. I know everything eventually came back to Lennox/Marston, but it took it's sweet time getting there and took a lot of twists and turns along the way. By the time of the big reveal, I didn't care that Lennox/Marston was still alive. I just wanted the damn book to be over with. Heck, I would have been happy with it ending after the murder and the suicide of the writer and his wife.

2.I didn't care for a single character in the book, outside of Marlowe. Now, maybe that was the only person I was meant to care about, but it still kept me from really connecting with the material. I guess in the end maybe I didn't care about Marlowe that much, either, because I had a hard time motivating myself to pick up the book and continue reading. A book of this size usually takes me about 2-3 days to get through, this one took me 14 days. I just didn't have any urgency to go forward with the story more than an hour or so at a time. I think not connecting with any of the characters and the story being all over the place and not really feeling cohesive were big contributing factors to this.

In the end, I can't give this book any more than *1/2 or ** out of ****. I just found it a tedious, arduous task to even finish the book. At several points I wanted to quit, but I kept with it for two reasons: to see if it got better, and so I could discuss it here.

thinkpad · 08-20-2010, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quake1028

Well, I for one was really disappointed in the book. Not in the sense that I had ever read Chandler and was let down that way, because I had not. I was disappointed because I had heard good things about the author not only here, but other sites as well.

Amen to that that. I felt exactly the same. This book has been praised to the skies on Amazon and for what. I was expecting a masterpiece, instead I regretted spending money to get it.

I didn't feel with any of the characters and the book gave me very little. The book felt melancholic all the way through to the end.

This was my first book by Chandler and probably my last.

bjones6416 · 08-20-2010, 08:10 PM

Eh, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I put it down a couple of times and read something else, then picked it back up. I just finished it about an hour ago.

What really struck me was that, as a woman, I didn't connect with any of the female characters AT ALL. They were just paper dolls or something. The story was pretty good, but I was handicapped by not being familiar with some of the "tough guy" lingo and the fact that this genre really isn't my cup of tea. I would have liked for Marlowe and Lennox to be friends at the end, but I really didn't expect an upbeat ending.

I doubt I'll read another Marlowe book, but I'm not sorry I read this one. It might even inspire me to do a little research on that place and time.

SensualPoet · 08-20-2010, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjones6416

What really struck me was that, as a woman, I didn't connect with any of the female characters AT ALL. They were just paper dolls or something.

My guess is you'd find that with all seven of the Chandler Marlowe's; he often lavishes much more detail, sympathy and motivation on relatively minor male characters than he does on leading women in the plots.

Chandler's writing is witty, obtuse, clever, interior ... great qualities if you love "a good read". Chandler's works are among those that I don't want to end; they are steeped in their own juices.

If you don't like Chandler, you probably won't like Robert B Parker's Spencer series, either. Unlike many others, Parker's "gumshoe" is not derivative of Chandler, but more a reimagining. They have style, cleverness, unexpected humour and asides ... and are fine "good reads".

jgaiser · 08-20-2010, 10:42 PM

Aren't taste funny?

I engulfed the book in less that a week of on and off reading. Stayed up late the last night to finish it. This is only my second Chandler (first was "The Big Sleep") and so far I consider it the best.

recluse · 08-20-2010, 11:27 PM

Excellent example of classic noir.
No one could write like Chandler.
Only Andrew Vachss and Cornell Woolrich come close.

lila55 · 08-21-2010, 03:40 AM

"The Long Goodbye" was quite enjoyable for me while I was reading it, at times I even found myself glued to it and could not put it down (so, many times better than "The 39 Steps", which we read some months ago

), but it is one of those books that I could pick up again a year from now and it would seem like I never read it, as opposed to others that stick with me - as does "The Book Thief", for example.

Ea · 08-21-2010, 03:43 PM

Not that far into it yet, I'm afraid (been a little side-lined by life stuff, I feel), but so far I'd call it 'okay'. I remember reading this about - um? - 15-20 years ago, when I was practically a teenager and loved crime fiction. I remembered Chandler's novels as good, but today I have a somewhat different view of what constitutes good writing, so I felt apprehensive about reading this. Fortunately my fears were easy to lay to rest. I still like the style of those well-placed one-liners. The overall pace of the story, the story itself, somehow fails to grab me. Though... I'm not sure it should all be blamed on Mr. Chandler - at least as far as I'm concerned.

Chandler can do something special with language and writing that I don't feel has diminished at all since this was written.

DixieGal · 08-21-2010, 06:33 PM

I really enjoyed it, but so far I seem to be in the minority. However, I knew what to expect. In college working on my lit degree, I took a semester of detective fiction. The Long Goodbye was new to me, but I have read a bunch of Chandler and noir fiction.

The things that I liked most were the insights into Chandler's mind and his thought on the act of writing. I wonder if these were serious musings or self-deprecating humor? (I am too lazy to research it.). I found myself bookmarking those passages where he ponders writers and writing.

Was this book ever serialized? Because each episode could easily have been a stand-alone

Sure, the women were flat and sketchy. In this book, they are just furniture, decorative and someplace to hang a few plot points. Nothing suggests they matter at all, which is typical of detective fiction from that period. Also notice that the corpses are just left and ignored. Again, merely a tool to move the plot along.

Overall, I liked it and devoured it in two days.

voodoo_pepperweb · 08-22-2010, 01:43 PM

I really liked this. There were some great lines. I was inspired to use Stanza to post some quotes on Facebook. I don't usually do much with Facebook, but this seemed worthwhile.

I really didn't get what was going on in Eileen Wade's head. She knew Terry/Paul wasn't the same man anymore and they couldn't reclaim what they had. So why did she feel like murdering Sylvia and her husband?

Quake1028 · 08-22-2010, 06:16 PM

I thought the book explained that she murdered Sylvia because she had taken two men from her, and killed Mr. Wade because he knew or was starting to remember what happened.

thinkpad · 08-23-2010, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ea

Chandler can do something special with language and writing that I don't feel has diminished at all since this was written.

Words and the way of writing is very important, but I feel it's not enough. Words needs to be backed up by a good story or I could have just read some poem or prose. I never felt captivated by the story and didn't feel for any of the characters. I guess I'm just not a fan of Noir writing.

Donnageddon · 08-23-2010, 04:17 AM

When Chandler wrote, the keys on his typewriter hammered the paper like a hopped up conga player fighting for his life against the flight of the bumblebee.

And regarding "plot", as Chandler said himself "When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand".

Man, I love Chandler.

beppe · 08-23-2010, 05:01 AM

The theme that I love most in all of Chandler's is the under dog that never lets go and is loyal to his friends.

08-20-2010, 03:35 PM	#1
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	Discussion: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler So... what did you think? BOb

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08-20-2010, 04:16 PM	#2
Quake1028 Guru Posts: 917 Karma: 9155462 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampa, FL Device: See signature	Well, I for one was really disappointed in the book. Not in the sense that I had ever read Chandler and was let down that way, because I had not. I was disappointed because I had heard good things about the author not only here, but other sites as well. My main complaints with the book: 1.It seemed to me to be disjointed and all over the place. I know everything eventually came back to Lennox/Marston, but it took it's sweet time getting there and took a lot of twists and turns along the way. By the time of the big reveal, I didn't care that Lennox/Marston was still alive. I just wanted the damn book to be over with. Heck, I would have been happy with it ending after the murder and the suicide of the writer and his wife. 2.I didn't care for a single character in the book, outside of Marlowe. Now, maybe that was the only person I was meant to care about, but it still kept me from really connecting with the material. I guess in the end maybe I didn't care about Marlowe that much, either, because I had a hard time motivating myself to pick up the book and continue reading. A book of this size usually takes me about 2-3 days to get through, this one took me 14 days. I just didn't have any urgency to go forward with the story more than an hour or so at a time. I think not connecting with any of the characters and the story being all over the place and not really feeling cohesive were big contributing factors to this. In the end, I can't give this book any more than 1/2 or * out of ****. I just found it a tedious, arduous task to even finish the book. At several points I wanted to quit, but I kept with it for two reasons: to see if it got better, and so I could discuss it here.

08-20-2010, 08:10 PM	#4
bjones6416 ↓↓ Skirt!! Earrings!! Posts: 3,394 Karma: 17432172 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Georgia, USA Device: Acer netbook, JetBook Lite, Sony PRS-300, Kindle 2, Kindle Fire	Eh, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I put it down a couple of times and read something else, then picked it back up. I just finished it about an hour ago. What really struck me was that, as a woman, I didn't connect with any of the female characters AT ALL. They were just paper dolls or something. The story was pretty good, but I was handicapped by not being familiar with some of the "tough guy" lingo and the fact that this genre really isn't my cup of tea. I would have liked for Marlowe and Lennox to be friends at the end, but I really didn't expect an upbeat ending. I doubt I'll read another Marlowe book, but I'm not sorry I read this one. It might even inspire me to do a little research on that place and time.

08-20-2010, 10:42 PM	#6
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	Aren't taste funny? I engulfed the book in less that a week of on and off reading. Stayed up late the last night to finish it. This is only my second Chandler (first was "The Big Sleep") and so far I consider it the best.

08-20-2010, 11:27 PM	#7
recluse Banned Posts: 3,724 Karma: 535488 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: the Mortuary Device: Kindle 2	Excellent example of classic noir. No one could write like Chandler. Only Andrew Vachss and Cornell Woolrich come close.

08-21-2010, 03:40 AM	#8
lila55 Fanatic Posts: 595 Karma: 456534 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Stuttgart, Germany Device: PocketBook 360° , iPhone 5, PRS-650, Sony PRS-T2, Sony PRS-T3, Tolino	"The Long Goodbye" was quite enjoyable for me while I was reading it, at times I even found myself glued to it and could not put it down (so, many times better than "The 39 Steps", which we read some months ago ), but it is one of those books that I could pick up again a year from now and it would seem like I never read it, as opposed to others that stick with me - as does "The Book Thief", for example.

08-21-2010, 03:43 PM	#9
Ea Wizard Posts: 3,490 Karma: 5239563 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kindle 3\|iPad air\|iPhone 4S	Not that far into it yet, I'm afraid (been a little side-lined by life stuff, I feel), but so far I'd call it 'okay'. I remember reading this about - um? - 15-20 years ago, when I was practically a teenager and loved crime fiction. I remembered Chandler's novels as good, but today I have a somewhat different view of what constitutes good writing, so I felt apprehensive about reading this. Fortunately my fears were easy to lay to rest. I still like the style of those well-placed one-liners. The overall pace of the story, the story itself, somehow fails to grab me. Though... I'm not sure it should all be blamed on Mr. Chandler - at least as far as I'm concerned. Chandler can do something special with language and writing that I don't feel has diminished at all since this was written.

08-21-2010, 06:33 PM	#10
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	I really enjoyed it, but so far I seem to be in the minority. However, I knew what to expect. In college working on my lit degree, I took a semester of detective fiction. The Long Goodbye was new to me, but I have read a bunch of Chandler and noir fiction. The things that I liked most were the insights into Chandler's mind and his thought on the act of writing. I wonder if these were serious musings or self-deprecating humor? (I am too lazy to research it.). I found myself bookmarking those passages where he ponders writers and writing. Was this book ever serialized? Because each episode could easily have been a stand-alone Sure, the women were flat and sketchy. In this book, they are just furniture, decorative and someplace to hang a few plot points. Nothing suggests they matter at all, which is typical of detective fiction from that period. Also notice that the corpses are just left and ignored. Again, merely a tool to move the plot along. Overall, I liked it and devoured it in two days.

08-22-2010, 01:43 PM	#11
voodoo_pepperweb Member Posts: 16 Karma: 19360 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kindle K3, Android phone	I really liked this. There were some great lines. I was inspired to use Stanza to post some quotes on Facebook. I don't usually do much with Facebook, but this seemed worthwhile. I really didn't get what was going on in Eileen Wade's head. She knew Terry/Paul wasn't the same man anymore and they couldn't reclaim what they had. So why did she feel like murdering Sylvia and her husband?

08-22-2010, 06:16 PM	#12
Quake1028 Guru Posts: 917 Karma: 9155462 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampa, FL Device: See signature	I thought the book explained that she murdered Sylvia because she had taken two men from her, and killed Mr. Wade because he knew or was starting to remember what happened.

08-23-2010, 04:17 AM	#14
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	When Chandler wrote, the keys on his typewriter hammered the paper like a hopped up conga player fighting for his life against the flight of the bumblebee. And regarding "plot", as Chandler said himself "When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand". Man, I love Chandler.

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08-23-2010, 05:01 AM	#15
beppe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,161 Karma: 81026524 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle3, Ipod4, IPad2	The theme that I love most in all of Chandler's is the under dog that never lets go and is loyal to his friends.