Rating: 
Summary: CHANDLER AT HIS BEST
Review: "Farewell, My Lovely" is such an amazing book. From the first page, this novel does what all Chandler books do-- transports you to a whole 'nother world, so real it feels like you're actually there. FML is such an awe-inspiring accomplishment for the immensely talented man of letters, Raymond Chandler. Most of the time I was absolutely floored, just sitting there with my mouth wide open, marvelling at his genius. Writing is hardly ever this good, and when it is, the great stuff usually isn't the abundance of the book (as RC's is), rather, it's in little snippets here and there. There must be a God, because Chandler's writing makes me realize the potential of us humans to transcend the ordinary and be what he is-- extraordinary. Not to mention that the mystery will have you guessing all the way through, and even without the cynical prose (yes, I said prose) which manages to be beautifully ugly and positively negative at the same time (I told you he was a genius), is excellent in of itself. So, I urge every person who hasn't yet done so to read Raymond Chandler. He is not just a mystery writer (which usually means sub-standard literature) but he totally, without a doubt, transcended the genre. I guarantee his writing will blow you away. His clever, cheeky remarks, his sarcasm, his minimalistic prose, his cynical outlook, the dames, the coppers, the criminals-- that and more is what you can look forward to in this masterpiece of the English language.
Rating:
Summary: CHANDLER AT HIS BEST
Review: "Farewell, My Lovely" is such an amazing book. From the first page, this novel does what all Chandler books do-- transports you to a whole 'nother world, so real it feels like you're actually there. FML is such an awe-inspiring accomplishment for the immensely talented man of letters, Raymond Chandler. Most of the time I was absolutely floored, just sitting there with my mouth wide open, marvelling at his genius. Writing is hardly ever this good, and when it is, the great stuff usually isn't the abundance of the book (as RC's is), rather, it's in little snippets here and there. There must be a God, because Chandler's writing makes me realize the potential of us humans to transcend the ordinary and be what he is-- extraordinary. Not to mention that the mystery will have you guessing all the way through, and even without the cynical prose (yes, I said prose) which manages to be beautifully ugly and positively negative at the same time (I told you he was a genius), is excellent in of itself. So, I urge every person who hasn't yet done so to read Raymond Chandler. He is not just a mystery writer (which usually means sub-standard literature) but he totally, without a doubt, transcended the genre. I guarantee his writing will blow you away. His clever, cheeky remarks, his sarcasm, his minimalistic prose, his cynical outlook, the dames, the coppers, the criminals-- that and more is what you can look forward to in this masterpiece of the English language.
Rating: 
Summary: Soused Private Eye Manages to Stay Alive Inspite of Himself
Review: A giant of an ex-con, bursting out of his costly, tasteless and ill-fitting clothes shows up at a nightclub one day, looking for his ex-girl, Velma, and takes Raymond Chandler's intrepid, wise-cracking detective, Philip Marlowe, along for a rather bumpy and dangerous ride, in this tale of crooked L.A. cops, gigolos, mediums, gamblers and gang betrayal. Moose Malloy is bigger then nearly everyone else and not overly bright but he is dead set on finding his Velma, last seen eight years before when Moose got turned into the cops for a bank job he pulled with some others. Marlowe witnesses Moose in action, while on a case, and gets sucked into the search for the big guy and his long lost honey by one cop while being warned off by another. But Marlowe is too bull-headed to do anything but keep pushing and, surprisingly, not particularly bright, since he keeps getting suckered and hit over the head and put at serious risk of his life. Situations he ought to see coming, as an experienced detective, he seems to persistently misread, perhaps because his liking for liquor has blurred his senses or maybe he just isn't a very good investigator. But, whatever the case, he stumbles on, from one life threatening situation to another. He also can't seem to get his arms around the fuzzy set of coincidences that follow hard on the heels of his run-in with Moose as he gets a job offer that anyone in his business with half a brain would walk away from . . . and then mishandles it badly. The seedy atmosphere of L.A. is very nicely handled and the characters sharply limned and convincing, but the perpetually soused Marlowe, with the self-defeating wise-cracks and nasty mouth is a little tiresome. I had a bit of trouble acclimating myself to the racist mindset that Marlowe and his cohorts present in this 40's milieu, too, since I thought it was somewhat gratuitous and even mean-spirited, but maybe that's how some folks thought in those days. More troubling was my profound sense that Marlowe was just not bright enough, or slick enough, to be a half-decent private eye. He seems, in this book, to have a death-wish, a bad trait for someone who hires himself out as bodyguard and investigator. He takes chances a green kid shouldn't take and never seems to see the blackjack coming. Still, he manages to stumble along, thanks to a combination of apparently undeserved good luck and just plain hard-headedness, until the cause of all his troubles unfolds itself before his and our eyes. Surprisingly, given his drink-induced obtuseness, he solves the mysterious set of coincidences that have led to so much murder and betrayal, and gets the girl who wants him though he's too tough to ever openly acknowledge wanting her. This was a very odd detective tale, if ever there was one, and yet, for all its irritations and flaws it kept me reading to a most satisfying conclusion that pretty much wraps the central problem up in an almost too-tight, neatly tied bow. Moose finds what he was looking for and Marlowe figures out how to find Moose and the killer of Marlowe's mysterious client is unmasked. Marlowe, of course, has another drink. -- SWM
Rating:
Summary: A classic five star read.
Review: After reading "The Big Sleep" I knew that I was going to read more of Raymond Chandler. After reading this book I know that I will continue to read even more.A very interesting and entertaining crime yarn. I will give it the 5 star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Blam! Chandler again!
Review: Can YOU feel the pain from a right hook thrown in a darkened alleyway at 2:00 a.m. on a cold April Thursday, or the well-worn warmth of a ragged wool carpet runner tacked to the seventh floor of a well past acceptable rent-up in pre-war Los Angeles against the leather shoe sole, or perhaps your face? Read Chandler and you very well might be able to.
Rating:
Summary: The Underworld's Finest
Review: Farewell My Lovely introduces readers to the seedy underworld that can be found among the deliciously rich in Southern California. This novel reads like a Quentin Tarantino production where every one seems cliché cool, moves swift, and screams with devious intentions. The main detective Philip Marlowe knows the underground world around Southern California as he is initially recruited to find stolen jewels but ultimately stumbles upon a murder case full of twists and turns. Crime follows everywhere he goes as he meets gamblers, fraud, vixens, con men, prostitutes, poor, and rich. This books relishes in the criminal underground and that is exactly what makes this novel such an enticing read. Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of this book is the fact that Marlowe, like the rest of us, is not flawless. Rather than being the astute Sherlock Holmes, this gifted sleuth has normal problems which we all can relate to. He never seems invincible and always seems to be on the verge of trouble which ultimately makes the book more enjoyable. The only drawback is by the end of the book I had already guessed the criminal, but then again, I may have just gotten lucky.
Rating:
Summary: One of Chandler¿s Best
Review: Farewell My Lovely puts Chandler's detective hero, Philip Marlowe on the trail of Moose Malloy, a hulking ex-convict who's looking for his ex-girlfriend Velma. Marlowe stumbles upon Malloy as he tears up a bar looking for her. Velma had worked there when the bar had a white clientele. The place has the same name but is now for coloreds only. Molloy murders the bar's owner. The police are uninterested since the victim was a person of color. Marlowe looks into the case on his own initiative, even though no client has hired him to do so. A mysterious wealthy playboy hires Marlowe to be his bodyguard at a ransom exchange. Marlowe is knocked unconscious and his client is murdered. The story proceeds from there with all the loose threads being tied together at the end. There are a lot of plot points that don't make much sense. Bay City is a fictitious town abutting Los Angeles where a good part of the story takes place. It is a haven for crooked cops, corrupt politicians, quack doctors, phony psychics, and illegal casino gambling. Marlowe makes a huge effort, risking his life several times, to meet Brunette, the mob boss that runs Bay City. That effort seems worthwhile only in hindsight. The climactic confrontation between Marlowe, Molloy and the missing girlfriend seems contrived. All of that is unimportant. Raymond Chandler's novels are appealing more for their witty dialogue and clever metaphors than for their stories. Farewell My Lovely's best line describes Moose Malloy's girlfriend: "It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window." Molloy himself is described as follows: "He looked as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food." Pure genius.
Rating:
Summary: ...stands out like a tarantula on a slice of angel food
Review: Farewell My Lovely, Raymond Chandler's second novel in the Philip Marlowe series, transcends the genre it helped to create, and is now (deservedly) viewed by many as literature and as social criticism. Chandler creates moods and telegraphs emotions via the poetic ramblings and outrageous similes from the mind of Philip Marlowe, the protagonist/detective/narrator who is picked up by the collar and dragged into a murder mystery that exposes not only the hypocrisy beneath the surface in the lifestyles of the rich and beautiful, but ultimately, the depravity of the human condition. And all of this is delivered with a caustic sense of humor, a wry wit, and a hypersensitivity to the visual world and it's translation into the language of the mean streets. Although Chandler died shortly before I was born, I grew up in L.A., and I can say that the L.A. Chandler wrote of is in many ways the city of my childhood memories, so well did he capture the ambiance and ambivalence of the 'city of angels'. Some have criticized his plotting and plausability, but emotion, action, and detail were what interested him the most, and in these he excelled. FAREWELL MY LOVELY must be viewed within the context of it's era (published in 1940) to be fully appreciated, but the flow of action, the visual aspect of it's language, and the insights into the very human conflict of corruption verses conscience are timeless. This book, like the first in the Marlowe series (THE BIG SLEEP) was written at the height of Chandler's creative career, and exemplifies the style that has made him a writer's writer, possibly the most imitated author of the past century.
Rating: 
Summary: sorry, nutty characters and tough-guy talk ain't enough....
Review: Farewell, My Lovely is one of several Philip Marlowe detective stories from Raymond Chandler known for their smokey, 1940s L.A. feel. Philip Marlowe is the private eye whom ladies love, but he seems to be more interested in solving extremely bizarre crimes (and not getting paid for his time) than in romance. Sometimes Raymond Chandler does a brilliant job in building a story around the Marlowe character, as he did with The Lady In The Lake. However he misses the mark with Farewell, My Lovely. Why? Hmmm, let's see. Well certainly the story scores well on the bizarre-ness scale. Marlowe finds himself in a pickle complete with killers, boozers, psychopathes ... the usual lot. But Raymond Chandler does a poor job with building on these characters; there are simply too many of them with only cameo appearances. The author fails to give his Marlowe character much to do other than waltz into one improbable scenario to another. Naturally in the end the story comes together, sort of. But Farewell, My Lovely sadly falls into the "curious but forgettable" category of mystery novels. Bottom line: Raymond Chandler on a bad day. Passable entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: sorry, nutty characters and tough-guy talk ain't enough....
Review: Farewell, My Lovely is one of several Philip Marlowe detective stories from Raymond Chandler known for their smokey, 1940s L.A. feel. Philip Marlowe is the private eye whom ladies love, but he seems to be more interested in solving extremely bizarre crimes (and not getting paid for his time) than in romance. Sometimes Raymond Chandler does a brilliant job in building a story around the Marlowe character, as he did with The Lady In The Lake. However he misses the mark with Farewell, My Lovely. Why? Hmmm, let's see. Well certainly the story scores well on the bizarre-ness scale. Marlowe finds himself in a pickle complete with killers, boozers, psychopathes ... the usual lot. But Raymond Chandler does a poor job with building on these characters; there are simply too many of them with only cameo appearances. The author fails to give his Marlowe character much to do other than waltz into one improbable scenario to another. Naturally in the end the story comes together, sort of. But Farewell, My Lovely sadly falls into the "curious but forgettable" category of mystery novels. Bottom line: Raymond Chandler on a bad day. Passable entertainment.
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