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The first time Marlowe sets eyes on Terry Lennox, he is lying drunk in the passenger seat of a Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith. The next time, he's on Skid Row. After they share a few Gimlets, Marlowe thinks he seems like a nice guy, but he's had a hard life, his white hair and scarred face testify to that. Or could it be marriage to Sylvia Lennox that has turned him prematurely grey? Although beautiful and rich, she plays the field in a big way.
Lennox says he has the promise of a job in Las Vegas, and Marlowe helps him out with the cost of the ticket. Two weeks later, he gets the money back, with a note from Lennox saying he is starting a second honeymoon with Sylvia.
But the honeymoon turns sour, the dame ends up dead and Lennox turns up on Marlowe's doorstep in big trouble. He needs to get away in a hurry, and against his better judgement Marlowe agrees to take him to Tijuana. Soon after, the cops arrive, and Marlowe finds himself cooling his heels in the can, suspected of helping Sylvia's killer escape. And that's not the end of his problems, not by a long shot.
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Reading the novel is a joy: a sardonic smile or bitter laugh a constant companion. Every sentence is steeped in cool and dark humour; every page contains a witty aphorism or observation. The descriptions are economical and precise, but spiced with a spin of disappointed intelligence: more often than not Marlowe describes something as "not" like something else. This clever use of negative simile reflects the tone of the novel: dark and uncompromising about society with a pitch black sense of humour. One interesting fact is that Chandler's observations about society, and particularly American society, are as devastatingly accurate as ever. The message is clear: corruption, whether personal, social or political, is timeless.
The character of Marlowe is similarly timeless: his dry wit and bruised idealism still sympathetic and engaging. He has lost none of his appeal despite being reimagined and reivented so many times by so many writers in the last fifty years. Marlowe remains the most important and impressive protagonist in noir, and in "The Long Good-bye" Chandler confirms that he doesn't just easily attain the accolade of king of noir, he also makes a strong case to be considered among the greats of mid 20th century American literature.
It is as dense and complex as other comments on this page suggest. This was absolutely without question Chandlers finest hour - Marlowe was never more bitter, caustic and cynical than in this book, and Chandler finally reached his peak with his most brutal writing, which was as sparse and unadorned as you could possible wish for. He'd saved every plot twist and every scathing, bitter Marlowe put down for this, and the end result, which stinks of cigarette smoke and whiskey, is glorious.
Frankly, this is the absolute epitome of "Noir" - ice cool, dangerous and moody, and Marlowe is the finest 'anti-hero' around.
Every American crime writer to this day is still left flapping in comparison.
Buy without hesitation!
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