Book: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

You know when you watch a movie and THEN read the book, how it can often ruin the book? Not so, with The Big Sleep. The only reason I say this is Humphrey Bogart. Humphrey Bogart IS Philip Marlowe.

Philip Marlowe is the archetypal hard-boiled detective who gets by on wits alone it seems, for he is rarely "packing heat" and when he is it is always someone else's gun.

The book reads quickly, and there is not a lot of filler: every word written contributes to the plot. I was surprised how risque some of the scenes are in the book, considering it was published in 1939.

While I was able to visualize the style of the time and the characters, having seen the movie, I often found myself comparing the movie to the book. Due to the enforcement of the Hays Code, a fair amount of the plot elements were either omitted or altered in an effort to censor the work and make it more acceptable for the masses. (If only they'd have known where we'd be 60 years later.)

If you're looking for a good detective novel, this is it.

I look forward to reading more of Marlowe's cases.