Rating: 
Summary: Vintage Marlowe -- But a Boring Story & a Mediocre Book
Review: Raymond Chandler wrote 4 noir novels in the late 30s and early 40s that defined the Southern California hardboiled thriller forever after. I first discovered them 41 years ago and instantly fell in love with them. The High Window, though, I thought at the time, and through several subsequent rereadings, was by far the least of the four. I hadn't reread it in at least 20 years now, but, based on some of the favorable Amazon comments, I read it again yesterday. My opinion of it, I'm sorry to say, hasn't changed in 41 years....Why do I think it's only a mediocre book? Forty-one years ago I couldn't have articulated it. Now, however, it's obvious: Because, basically, it's a boring story. As an earlier reviewer in these columns told us, The High Window was the only one of the first 4 Chandler books that was plotted as an entirety and not cobbled together from earlier short stories that Chandler had written for the pulp magazines. This, however, instead of being a virtue, actually turns out to be the major fault in the book. Philip Marlowe, the first-person narrator and hero, is as beguiling as ever but the story he tells -- basically the search for a missing coin of great value -- is dull and listless. Each individual character is nicely sketched, as only Chandler could do at the height of his powers, and the writing sparkles and pops. But -- and this sounds strange but is absolutely true -- the story itself could equally well have been written by Agatha Christie with Hercule Poirot as the main character. An investigation is mounted; the detective moves from one character to the next; a couple of bodies are discovered; the detective exchanges banter with the police; he talks with a few more characters; he wraps up the case and tells us who murdered whom -- probably. There is no menace directed at Marlowe, there is no suspense, there is no interest in finding out what is going to happen to any of the other characters, there is no action at all (unless you can call finding a couple of bodies action), and the plot itself is pretty dull if you stop and think about it for a few moments. Why is this? The short stories that Chandler wrote in the 30s for the pulp magazines (mostly Black Mask, I believe) were just that: pulp stories. They had action, violence, movement. Things happened to Marlowe (in his various incarnations) and Marlowe made things happen to other people. Guns went off, Marlowe got bopped on the head, he -- and other people -- were frequently in danger for their lives. When Chandler cobbled these stories together into three of his first four novels, he brought all of these elements into the freshly created books. Guns fired, Marlowe was bashed on the head, locked up in padded cells, beaten up by crooked cops, menaced by *real* gangsters. There was danger and suspense -- even if you (and Chandler) didn't always know exactly what was happening or who was doing what to whom -- or why. Chandler's exquisite writing and marvelous evocation of Los Angeles of that time was laid over these pulpish elements and transformed these gothically plotted books into literature. But literature that was exciting and impossible to put down. What *is* going to happen next in The Lady in the Lake? And why? And how is Marlowe going to get out of *this* predicament? In these three books you really want to know. In High Window there are none of these elements and the only reason you turn the pages is because of the wizardry of Chandler's writing and the picture he draws of 1941 Los Angeles and Pasadena during a few hot summer days. Here the cops are more friendly than threatening, all violence is off-page, the semi-gangster nightclub owner and his supposedly deadly bodyguard are minor characters who manifest nothing more than a few lines of tough-guy dialogue -- which then disappears when Marlowe is hired by them to do a job.... The transportation back to this vanished era of South California is well worth reading this book for (at least for me); but as a thriller up to the standards of the other early Chandlers it is simply a non-starter. Beware....
Rating: 
Summary: A solid Philip Marlowe novel
Review: Raymond Chandler's "The High Window" is catchy; far more so than any similar novel penned by Mickey Spillane or James M. Cain. It has all the noirish elements needed to be a great read: a rare coin is the perfect MacGuffin; a sultry, adulterous blonde provides the jaded sexual appeal; an emotionally-abused young lady is the damsel in distress; a psychotic villain is flawlessly despicable and the labyrinthine plot is well-nigh impossible to predict until the very last page. The above having been said, this well-written novel is not without its faults. My three qualms lie with what essentially was the waste of a spectacular character (Eddie Prue), the retread of "The Big Sleep" formula and the lack of suspense. Addressing the first qualm, a subtle tension builds between the one-eyed Eddie Prue -- an emotionless bagman -- and wise-cracking Marlowe for the latter half of the novel. This mounting tension is left entirely unresolved and, thus, is dissatisfying. The second qualm is that the Mrs. Murdock character seems to be carbon copy of General Sternwood from "The Big Sleep." They share far too many characteristics: a very wealthy recluse, physically disabled, world-wearily disillusioned, hampered by ailments, grim outlook, wayward offspring, etc. It seems that Chandler could have fleshed her character's uniqueness out just a tad more. Lastly, the lack of suspense throughout the novel may bore the casual reader. If it was not for Chandler's lively prose, I would have nodded off. The only time in which I was worried as to Marlowe's well-being was when he first hears Prue's voice in a very well-written piece. Despite these trivial flaws, it is a first rate novel and well-worth picking up.
Rating:
Summary: a tame, but certainly not lame Philip Marlowe story..
Review: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective stories, while never dull, can sometimes have almost hysterical, over-the-top plots which become terribly confusing to decipher. Fortunately the cracking dialogue and bizarre characters compensate nicely. In The High Window the author takes a breather, and delivers a story which is relatively simple ... and enjoyable to read. Like in many Marlowe stories, our naughty private eye is hired by a rich recluse. This time the recluse is a rich widow who believes her trashy daughter-in-law has stolen a rare coin inherited from her deceased hubby. As Marlowe investigates we understand that the daughter-in-law keeps some rather nasty company, and before long Marlowe is tangled in multiple homicide situation. Of course in the end it is all resolved in a surprisingly uncontrived way (..at least by Raymond Chandler standards). My only real complaint, or rather disappointment, is the general absence of Marlowe's normally razor-sharp sarcasm. In other books Marlowe can be extremely brutish with the ladies, and the ladies all fall in love with him. In The High Window we do not see this side of Marlowe, and so he seems somewhat two-dimensional in this story. Bottom line: most definitely not a Chandler classic, but certainly a very enjoyable read. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: a tame, but certainly not lame Philip Marlowe story..
Review: Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe detective stories, while never dull, can sometimes have almost hysterical, over-the-top plots which become terribly confusing to decipher. Fortunately the cracking dialogue and bizarre characters compensate nicely. In The High Window the author takes a breather, and delivers a story which is relatively simple ... and enjoyable to read. Like in many Marlowe stories, our naughty private eye is hired by a rich recluse. This time the recluse is a rich widow who believes her trashy daughter-in-law has stolen a rare coin inherited from her deceased hubby. As Marlowe investigates we understand that the daughter-in-law keeps some rather nasty company, and before long Marlowe is tangled in multiple homicide situation. Of course in the end it is all resolved in a surprisingly uncontrived way (..at least by Raymond Chandler standards). My only real complaint, or rather disappointment, is the general absence of Marlowe's normally razor-sharp sarcasm. In other books Marlowe can be extremely brutish with the ladies, and the ladies all fall in love with him. In The High Window we do not see this side of Marlowe, and so he seems somewhat two-dimensional in this story. Bottom line: most definitely not a Chandler classic, but certainly a very enjoyable read. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best he's done
Review: The conclusion is a bit weird .. with some psycho-babble which I found strange and disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Best sledgehammer around
Review: The High Window
by Raymond Chandler The "HighWindow" begins one hot day in Pasadena, when "everythingthat grew was perfectly still in the breathless air they get overthere on what they call a nice cool day." If we don't know we arein a Philip Marlowe novel yet, we do as soon as we meet his newclient--a wealthy, obese widow named Mrs. Murdock. From theovergrown, dimly-lit sun room where she holds court, she gives Marlowehis latest p.i. assignment. He's to find a rare coin, the BrasherDoubloon, that was stolen from her possession. He's also to find herdaughter-in-law, a former nightclub singer named Linda Conquest, whodisappeared at the same time as the coin. "A charming girl--andtough as an oak board," Mrs. Murdock tells him, through sips ofher port. Marlowe's search for the pair leads to a tale more denseand tangled than the thick foliage of his client's sun porch. Hequickly finds himself enmeshed with a rich gambler and hisphilandering, showgirl wife; a thug with a frozen eye; and a morticianwho delves into politics. Marlowe also has to contend with the policeand a man in a sand-colored coupé who keeps tailing him. Then thereare the corpses that keep piling up in his path. There's also hisclient, who has her own share of tightly-bound secrets. Anear-invalid who spends her days lying on a reed chaise lounge,Mrs. Murdock still holds an iron grip on her effeminate son and thefragile woman who works as her secretary. The plot is fast-pacedand engrossing, but the real power of the novel lies in the snappydialogue and beautifully conveyed atmosphere. Chandler's style hasbeen copied endlessly by other writers over the past fifty years, butno one can touch him. Marlowe's is a world filled with hard-eyedFilipinos answering doors, nightclubs named the Tigertail Bar, andwomen who are "all cigarettes and arched eyebrows and go-to-hellexpressions." Even his butterflies take off heavily and staggeraway "through the motionless hot scented air." As withthe other Marlowe novels, there's the usual gratuitous wisecracksexchanged with minor characters--the sourpuss maid; the streetwisechauffeur; the old, watery-eyed elevator operator who breathed hard,"as if he was carrying the elevator on his back." Despite hiscynical words, Marlowe holds a special place in his heart for thelosers in the world. He sends cash to a pitiful handwriting expertand takes an inept detective under his wing. "The shop-soiledGalahad," an associate calls him. For the rest of thecharacters, however, he has nothing but contempt. A tough man in atough world, Marlowe doesn't hide his true feelings under a bushel.He describes the gambler's wife: "From thirty feet away shelooked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked likesomething made up to be seen from thirty feet away." Hisinstructions to the portly Mrs. Murdock: "Tell her to jump in thelake...Tell her to jump in two lakes, if one won't hold her." Chandler's master stroke as a writer is hyperbole. Even his silencesare "as loud as a ton of coal going down a chute." He maywrite with a sledgehammer, but it's the best sledgehammer around.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging, fun read.
Review: The High Window is a fast paced, intricately plotted story inhabited by an abundance of interesting and colorful characters.
Once again, Raymond Chandler has succeeded in painting very vivid pictures of the various locales depicted with his unique brand of highly descriptive prose. A relatively short novel, The High Window is packed with page after page of interesting twists and turns, memorable characters and sharp dialogue.
Hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe is, as always, hard drinking, wise cracking and supremely self confident. A walking, breathing paradox, he adheres to a very high minded code of honor when it comes to protecting client confidentiality yet is not above tampering with evidence.
What starts off as a rather mundane search for a missing rare coin quickly becomes much more complex. Murder, blackmail and the psychological abuse of a vulnerable young woman all play a role in the compelling plot. This novel should appeal to all fans of detective fiction as well as to those who appreciate good writing regardless of subject matter.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging, fun read.
Review: The High Window is a fast paced, intricately plotted story inhabited by an abundance of interesting and colorful characters.
Once again, Raymond Chandler has succeeded in painting very vivid pictures of the various locales depicted with his unique brand of highly descriptive prose. A relatively short novel, The High Window is packed with page after page of interesting twists and turns, memorable characters and sharp dialogue.
Hard-boiled detective Philip Marlowe is, as always, hard drinking, wise cracking and supremely self confident. A walking, breathing paradox, he adheres to a very high minded code of honor when it comes to protecting client confidentiality yet is not above tampering with evidence.
What starts off as a rather mundane search for a missing rare coin rapidly expands to include multiple murder, blackmail and psychological abuse. This novel should appeal to all fans of detective fiction as well as to those who appreciate good writing regardless of subject matter.
Rating:
Summary: Another good Marlow detective mystery.
Review: This book could have received 5 stars, but I must confess that I did'nt like how the ending was resolved so quikly.Still it was a solid 4 star read. I will continue to read more of Raymond Chandler.
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