The Big Sleep cover art

The Big Sleep

Philip Marlowe, Book 1

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The Big Sleep

Written by: Raymond Chandler
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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About this listen

The iconic first novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, featuring Philip Marlowe, the "quintessential urban private eye" (Los Angeles Times).

A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, seduction, and murder are just a few of the complications he gets caught up in.

©1939 Raymond Chandler (P)2020 Random House Audio Crime Crime Fiction Fiction Hard-Boiled Mystery Noir Private Investigators Thriller Traditional Detectives Detective
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Let's start by saying that this is a masterwork in crime fiction and the hardboiled detective fiction. Chandler is unparalleled (in my opinion) with setting up a mood so smoky and jazz filled that you feel as though you are walking beside Marlowe throughout his journey.

But it's the censoring of the text that bothers me.
In Chapter 17 we're given the first taste of the word "fu*k", but the performer continously doesn't actually say the word, for some reason. This is a novel that was written in 1939, and a lot of what is said could be considered problematic in this age of enlightenment, but out of everything they chose not to censor; homophobia, misogynistic views, and racial stereotypes (which the performer actually emulates with a stereotypical "black speech pattern", although he's simply reading the written word I suppose...) that a silly word is what gets censored is beyond me.

Performance is great! Scott Brick does a wonderful Marlowe!
The music in-between chapters was an odd choice, but it really grew on me. It simply just made it easier to keep track of how many chapters I had listened to in a sitting. I've read a few reviews stating that that's what turned people off this performance; these people are nuts. The music certainly doesn't hinder the performance, but adds a level of immersion. The music is fitting for the chapters they follow and just adds more mood to the overall performance.

If you have never read something from the great Raymond Chandler, I highly suggest this entry

Why censor the original text?

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Great story, keeps you guessing, AWESOME reader and the voices used are good. You will really enjoy this book and get his other books. Enjoy

Awesome

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Noir indeed. And very well done... but arguably somewhat too bitter. A bit more uplift would be nice.

Excellent but dark

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