Raymond Chandler's novels are classics of the hardboiled genre, and have taken on a mythic status. Farewell My Lovely is his second novel, and it exhibits all the features that have attracted readers over the past 70 years. I remembered it fondly, if vaguely, from reading it many years ago, and have recently read it again. To my surprise, it hasn't aged as well as I expected (or I haven't!) -- and not just due to the dated gender roles and (to some, offensive) references to various characters' ethnicities. Certainly it has its moments, in the action scenes and snappy dialogue, and the plot is convoluted, engaging, and unpredictable. Yet the pace seemed choppy and the prose confusing (I found myself rereading passages to figure them out), and the '40s slang was often hard to decipher. I almost hope my reaction is idiosyncratic, as Chandler's work deserves to be read and recognized as founding works of the noire genre. ( )

I thought this was even better than 'The Big Sleep', although it perhaps deviates slightly from the classic formula, with odd excursions involving a fraudulent psychic, and a weird episode where Marlowe is 'doped' with heroin & thinks he's developed the DTs. It plot is complex but clear & ends with a fitting bang. ( )

The noir detective, Marlowe, must deal with jewel thieves and one crazy drugged-up dream sequence. ( )

Nice story, but a little confusing. As always though, extrememly well told.

This story starts off with bang, as the unforgettable Moose Malloy turns a juke joint upside down and inside out looking for his lost love. Marlowe, as usual, is sucked into a sordid mess that's far bigger and nastier than even the biggest and nastiest gangster around.

So is Farewell, My Lovely the pinnacle of the great Raymond Chandler's work, or is it just another exceptional noir featuring a tough-talking but good hearted private eye, a couple of dazzling femme fatales, a whole gallery of vivid bad guys, and lots of hard-hitting action?

What does it matter, really? Chandler's work sits at the peak of 20th-century American fiction, jostling for the summit with Faulkner and the other biggest of the big dogs.

I can't recommend Chandler highly enough. ( )