Discussion of themes and motifs in raymond chandler s the long goodbye. Chandler is considered one of the founders of the hardboiled detective. The long goodbye, if not the best or most technically accomplished of the marlowe novels, is without question benjamin blacks favourite. Chandler is not only the best writer of hardboiled pi. The long goodbye by raymond chandler, 9780394757681, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The story features philip marlowe, a private investigator who befriends terry.
The long goodbye the long goodbye is the sixth novel in chandler s philip marlowe universe, written some years after chandler s other marlowe novels and at a time when chandler was going through a rough patch. Philip marlowe is a long way from the infallible sleuth, the english, sherlock holmesstyle ancestor of the hardboiled fictional detective. Very good fading to the spine with a split hinge near the back and a starting hinge near the middle. The long goodbye by raymond chandler, book of a lifetime. This study guide consists of approximately 38 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the long goodbye. The long goodbye stands the test of time and is still a guilty pleasure from an era of tough guys, dames in distress, partnerships between the gangsters and dirty cops, and the discovery that even heroes have flaws. The chicago public library would like to thank the great books foundation, a nonprofit educational organization based in chicago, for contributing these questions. In noir master raymond chandler s the long goodbye, philip marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. I first read this book as a paperback back in my teens, and it stuck with me ever since. Asianwiki raymond chandler s ingenious novel finds philip marlowe constantly on the move with a case involving a war scarred drunk and his nymphomaniac wife. Make offer raymond chandler the long goodbye houghton mifflin 1954 hc early book club ed. That being said, i still view the long goodbye as perhaps lebowskis closest relative. It seeks to point out the corruption within rich american society.
Then he finds out that terry lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, whom he divorced. Unlike the unsurity of trouble is my business, marlowe knows what hes all about. Nov 09, 2017 author of the big sleep, the lady in the lake, the little sister, the high window, playback novel, the long goodbye, farewell, my lovely, killer in the rain raymond chandler open library donate. Due to his straitened financial circumstances during the great depression, chandler turned to his latent. The long goodbye discussion questions chicago public library. Aug 02, 2012 rereading chandler is a graphic reminder that california has always had problems but i digress. Buy the long goodbye by raymond chandler online at alibris. Philip marlowes ave atque vale runs to about 500 pages, through the sanguine incidents which attend his casual involvement with terry lennox, a rich womans kept poodle whom he picks up in a bar. In the long goodbye, marlowe lands in jail on a bum rap and gets conked over the head a few times. Raymond thornton chandler july 23, 1888 march 26, 1959 was an americanbritish novelist and screenwriter. He was wearing a pullover check shirt, yellow slacks, and riding boots. Philip marlowe 6 long goodbye, the pdf free download.
Raymond thornton chandler 1888 1959 was the master practitioner of american hardboiled crime fiction. Marlowe befriends a down on his luck war veteran with the scars to prove it. Rich, strong, bitter, boiling hot, ruthless, depraved. Raymond chandler, the simple art of murder1950 many of whom. The long goodbye by raymond chandler the first time i laid eyes on terry lennox he was drunk in a rollsroyce silver wraith outside the terrace of the dancers. The long goodbye is a large departure in some measures from the other marlowe novels and has a different feel and rhythm to it. This is a series of simplified stories, designed as an introduction to literature. For years his elderly wife, cissy, had been suffering a rapid decline in health and had been virtually bedridden throughout his writing of the long goodbye. The murder of sylvia lennox takes terry to mexico, and a confessionsuicide and political influence closes the case but not for marlowe who keeps it alive on a trail of hellcats and hoodlums, a. Ive read elsewhere that chandler intended for the long goodbye to be different from his other books. In 1932, at the age of fortyfour, chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the great depression. This is california in the 50s, as beautiful as a ripe fruit and rotten to the core, reflecting all the tarnished glitter of the american dream. In this episode of the magic lantern podcast we discuss robert altmans the long goodbye 1973. Chandler, in a letter to a friend, called the novel my best book.
Apparently, he did not set out to write a marlowe novel, but eventually lost his nerve. The long goodbye is a detective fiction novel published in 1953, written by raymond chandler. Aug 16, 2015 the wars, chandler suggests, have taken our innocence, and left us wornout, seedy, cynical and selfobsessed. Chandler produced several worksboth short stories and novelswhich feature philip marlowe as the. Raymond chandler was born in late july of 1888 in chicago, illinois. The long goodbye by raymond chandler book club discussion. Jan 21, 2016 the long goodbye by raymond chandler, book of a lifetime. Marlowe is now wisened up and past his existential crisis in the little sister. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of the long goodbye by raymond chandler.
Buy raymond chandler ebooks to read online or download in pdf or epub on your pc, tablet or mobile device. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of the long goodbye by raymond chandler. What does the conclusion of the long goodbye offer in the way of wisdom about marriage. The long goodbye by raymond chandler pdf free download ebook. He was middleaged and had long since outlived both pity and anger. However, it seems as if the similarities between chandler s marlowe and altmans marlowe ends here. I dont want to do raymond chandler, he said, feeling he had nothing new or worthwhile to say about the subject. With this caveat firmly displayed, i shall say that raymond chandler seems to me the master of crime fiction, and that the long goodbye, if not. Author of the big sleep, the lady in the lake, the little sister, the high window, playback novel, the long goodbye, farewell, my lovely, killer in the rain raymond chandler open library donate. Some critics consider it inferior to the big sleep or farewell, my lovely, but others rank it as the best of his work. For almost fifty years of chandlers life from 19071956, he lived in and was a citizen of britain. In one of the interviews provided by kino lorber on the bluray, altman refers to the detective. Americanbritish writer raymond chandler s crime fiction, the long goodbye 1953. Raymond chandler was one of the finest prose writers of the twentieth century.
The most autobiographical of his novels, the long goodbye was considered by chandler to be his best work. I went out the kitchen to make coffee yards of coffee. One of the preeminent examples of hardboiled detective fiction, adapted for radio, film and television, it received the 1955. Nothing is what it seems as marlowe unravels the wades scheme to expose the truth behind lennoxs facade. The long goodbye is a novel by raymond chandler, published in 1953, his sixth novel featuring the private investigator philip marlowe. Nov 01, 20 as brown and the coens point out, you can find these elements in just about any chandler novel. The long goodbye essays are academic essays for citation. I eventually became an author myself, and during the course of writing my third novel i referenced the long goodbye by way of the gin and roses lime juice cocktail known as a gimlet which is an integral part of chandler s tale. He doesnt quite get there, but the long goodbye is a critical part of marlowes canon. The long goodbye by raymond chandler, book of a lifetime the. The deputy on the early night shift was a big blond guy with meaty shoulders and a friendly grin. Convinced people would always connect raymond chandlers legendary detective philip marlowe with the iconic superstar humphrey bogart, robert altman wasnt interested in making the long goodbye.
Mar 22, 2020 raymond chandler, in full raymond thornton chandler, born july 23, 1888, chicago, illinois, u. Some see it as the pinnacle of chandlers career as a mystery author, while others see it as less powerful than the big sleep and farewell, my lovely, two early novels. He strolled off trailing douds of incense, not even bothering to look towards the rollsroyce. It is the most gripping and soulsearching story ray chandler ever wrote about philip marlowe, and in many ways the book constitutes the readers long goodbye to both chandler and marlowe. Then he finds out that terry lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, who hes divorced and remarried and who. Jan 10, 2012 marlowe went on to star in almost all of raymond chandler s major works and with farewell my lovely 1940 and the long goodbye 1954 chandler cemented his reputation as a giant of american popular culture and master of a style of detective fiction that would be widely admired and imitated. Guess you wont be with us long, if youve got endicott, he said pleasantly as he locked me in. Scott fitzgerald, and yet he probably isnt regarded as being in their league. The long goodbye and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Raymond chandler, the simple art of murder1950 fiction in any form has always intended to be realistic. For all of our episodes, including supplemental material, pl.
The series offers classics, bestsellers, filmtitles and original stori. Whether intentional or not, the above plot elements serve the same thematic purpose in both chandlers novel and its notsodirect adaptation. The main character, philip marlowe played by elliot gould in the film adaptation, is a struggling private investigator with a quick quip for any occasion. The long goodbye is chandler reaching for literary greatness. The rest of his life, he spent in america, including the last three years of his life. The long goodbye is no different in following this convention.
Oldfashioned novels which now seem stilted and artificial to the point of burlesque did not appear that way to the people who first read them. Altmans take on noir and the detective genre is characteristically idiosyncratic and playful. Marlowe first sees terry lennox in a car outside a club. Terry is so drunk that he cant stay in the car seat. Then he finds out that terry lennox has a very wealthy nymphomaniac wife, who hes divorced and remarried and who ends up dead.
276 970 244 537 1465 1051 1620 1635 874 136 551 387 424 629 480 1589 614 60 1261 914 336 579 110 642 1580 1400 676 1134 1492 303 502 561 1008 862 1425 500 122