a book
The Big Sleep
Raymond Chandler · 1988 · 139 pages
One of the most acclaimed works of crime fiction ever written, The Big Sleep is the first novel featuring Raymond Chandler’s iconic creation Philip Marlowe, hailed as the “quintessential urban private eye” (Los Angeles Times).
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
“Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious.” —Robert B. Parker, The New York Times Book Review
When old man Sternwood, a dying millionaire, hires Philip Marlowe to expose the blackmailer of one of his troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than simple extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, and seduction are just a few of the complications standing in the way of completing the task at hand. And just as Marlowe feels he’s getting ahold of the situation, he discovers the first body.
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
“Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious.” —Robert B. Parker, The New York Times Book Review
When old man Sternwood, a dying millionaire, hires Philip Marlowe to expose the blackmailer of one of his troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than simple extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, and seduction are just a few of the complications standing in the way of completing the task at hand. And just as Marlowe feels he’s getting ahold of the situation, he discovers the first body.
recommended by 8 people
sourced from public statements
Ryan Holiday
“Have you ever read any Raymond Chandler? He is the OG.”↗
Adam Sessler
“I just finished reading through all of Chandler's Marlowe novels and I love them, especially as an amazing catalogue of the changes in Los Angeles from the pre- to postwar eras. Be forewarned though, the sexual/racial attitudes are not comfortable.”↗
Hugh Dancy
“Raymond Chandler is one of life’s great pleasures, ideally in a bath with a drink in hand.”↗
books like The Big Sleep
other books recommended by the same people who recommend this one
In Cold Blood
Truman Capote
2 shared recommenders
Going Clear
Lawrence Wright
2 shared recommenders
The Long Goodbye
Raymond Chandler
2 shared recommenders
East of Eden
John Steinbeck
2 shared recommenders
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage to the Antarctic
Alfred Lansing
2 shared recommenders
Hamlet
William Shakespeare
2 shared recommenders
Man's Search for Meaning
Viktor E. Frankl
2 shared recommenders
The Master and Margarita: 50th-Anniversary Edition (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Mikhail Bulgakov
2 shared recommenders
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Robert M. Pirsig
2 shared recommenders