The big sleep is a metaphor for death and it is the first of many fine metaphors and similes that Raymond Chandler employs in his novel. This feature is not available right now. The process follows private eye Philip Marlowe ( Humphrey Bogart) as he finds his way through the jungle of gamblers, pornographers, killers and blackmailers who have attached themselves to the rich old general ( Charles Waldron) and his two randy daughters (Bacall and Vickers). “So you’re a private detective,” Lauren Bacall tells Humphrey Bogart’s Philip Marlowe in The Big Sleep (1946). The Big Sleep is a crime/mystery novel written by author Raymond Chandler. Published October 24th 2012. The novel taken into context was written during the late 1930's where the United States was attempting to recover from the depression that had economically devastated the country since 1929. That can be seen more clearly now that an earlier version of the film has surfaced. "The Big Sleep" was finished by Warner Brothers in 1945, but held out of release while the studio rushed to play off its backlog of World War II movies. 4.5 / 5 Summary (from Amazon) Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is… The Big Sleep (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first in his acclaimed series about detective Philip Marlowe. Lauren Bacall is the perfect femme fatale and Humphrey Bogart, my favorite actor ever, has another top-notch performance. The The Big Sleep Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. The story is noted for its complexity, with many characters double-crossing one another and many secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. The Big Sleep (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by Raymond Chandler, the first to feature detective Philip Marlowe.The work has been adapted twice into film, once in 1946 and again in 1978.The story is set in Los Angeles, California.. The story is noted for its complexity, with characters double-crossing one another and secrets being exposed throughout the narrative. Despite collecting an impressive retinue of literary admirers, including Somerset Maugham and, later, Edmund Wilson, the Knopf … "The Big Sleep" is a lust story with a plot about a lot of other things. The Big Sleep. by Bryony Harrison . Please try again later. About The Big Sleep. See a complete list of the characters in The Big Sleep and in-depth analyses of Philip Marlowe, Eddie Mars, and Carmen Sternwood. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler Hamish Hamilton 26 March 2009, Hardcover: 272 pages, ISBN-13: 978-0241144497. Quick Review (read on for the full review) Fast-paced and atmospheric, The Big Sleep is a complicated but gripping read full of vivid descriptions and sharp dialogue. A good read for those who enjoy a narrative that is too the point, one that holds no parables or hidden allegories. The Big Sleep was published in the spring of 1939. Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Big Sleep It's Los Angeles in the 1930s. The Big Sleep is the first novel by Raymond Chandler to feature the iconic Philip Marlowe. In 1999, the book was voted 96th of Le Monde ' … Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Someone has been blackmailing ailing oil magnate General Sternwood, so he calls in 33-year-old private investigator Philip Marlowe to find out who it is and how serious a matter it might be. This is the Code of the Private Eye as defined by Raymond Chandler in his 1944 essay 'The Simple Act of Murder.' Freelance writer and poet from London; if you would like to read my poetry, please check out my book, 'Poems on the Page', available from goo.gl/Ta4oAX. Kane. Chandler's fiction text shows and portrays no exertion of social criticism – in fact The Big Sleep forms as the slow decay of the American family and its high values and primary causes — the corruptive influence of wealth. Such a man was Philip Marlowe, private eye, an educated, heroic, streetwise, rugged individualist and the hero of Chandler's first novel, The Big Sleep. The Big Sleep: Book Review Home > Everywhere > Book Reviews | Books and Writing. The Big Sleep is one of five novels reissued this year with their original (UK) hardback covers, in commemoration of the fifty years since Raymond Chandler’s death. Reviewed by P.P.O. “The Big Sleep” is … "The Big Sleep" is a splendid film-noir, actually one of the best I have ever seen, directed by Howard Hawks with a magnificent story of blackmail and deaths and stunning performances. The definitive Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall vehicle, The Big Sleep casts Bogart as Raymond Chandler's cynical private eye Philip Marlowe. The novel taken into context was written during the late 1930's where the United States was attempting to recover from the depression that had economically devastated the country since 1929. The iconic first novel from crime fiction master Raymond Chandler, featuring Philip Marlowe, the “quintessential urban private eye” (Los Angeles Times).A dying millionaire hires private eye Philip Marlowe to handle the blackmailer of one of his two troublesome daughters, and Marlowe finds himself involved with more than extortion.