(no subject)

So, who wants to put on black tie and go have dinner at a Waffle House?

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I absolutely love Raymond Chandler.  I bought the Everyman's Library two-volume Complete Phil Marlowe Ouvre a few years ago, and have read all of the stories several times, but not in the past few years - in fact, I don't think I'd taken the books off the shelf since we moved into this apartment back in '04.  I've picked them up again and gone through "The Big Sleep" and "Farewell, My Lovely" (which I'm going to scan again and make a tally of every head injury Marlowe receives - it seems like he's knocked out every chapter), and am currently somewhere around halfway through "The High Window."  Raymond Chandler is woefully underappreciated as a literary writer.  The word choice and the phrasing of the narrative, the contrast between the narrative (which is first-person from Marlowe) and the dialogue (some of which, obviously, is also from Marlowe) giving excellent though subtle characterization - people have read these books and gotten the idea that Marlowe's a tough guy and nothing else, but he's not.  He acts like one.  It's the job.  He has to.  But underneath?  He plays chess, and thinks lonely mournful poetic thoughts, and makes friends with little caterpillars, and although he's too cynical to make friends easily, he usually wants to like people, because he is lonely, and he has a soft spot for other lonely people - even though he knows better than to actually show it.  He's not perfect.  He has flaws.  But he's not really tragic, either. He has strengths as well.  He is sentimental and he knows it and admits sometimes it's silly but he doesn't want to change.  He is tough, it's not just an act, but it's not all he is, either.  He's willing to take risks, but not stupid ones, and he's willing to partake of violence, but not needlessly, and he's willing to kill, but he wishes he didn't have to. 

The dialogue is all tough-guy.  The narrative is mostly descriptive, and there's not much sentiment in it.  But the word choice and the descriptions of Marlowe's reactions to people and things reveal his character more fully than you'd think.

Oh god I love these books.

(no subject)

The HBO series "Philip Marlowe, Private Eye" must've been a decent show - there aren't many early '80s things being released on DVD, but they're readily available.  Netflixed!