The Big Sleep

By: Raymond Chandler

Narrated by: Scott Brick

One of the most acclaimed works of crime fiction ever written, The Big Sleep is the first novel featuring Raymond Chandler’s iconic creation Philip Marlowe, hailed as the “quintessential urban private eye” (Los Angeles Times).

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

“Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious.” —Robert B. Parker, The New York Times Book Review

When old man Sternwood, a dying millionaire, hires Philip Marlowe to expose the blackmailer of one of his troublesome daughters, Marlowe finds himself involved with more than simple extortion. Kidnapping, pornography, and seduction are just a few of the complications standing in the way of completing the task at hand. And just as Marlowe feels he’s getting ahold of the situation, he discovers the first body.

Critic reviews

"Raymond Chandler is a master." —The New York Times

“[Chandler] wrote as if pain hurt and life mattered.” —The New Yorker

“Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Philip Marlowe remains the quintessential urban private eye.” —Los Angeles Times

“Nobody can write like Chandler on his home turf, not even Faulkner. . . . An original. . . . A great artist.” —The Boston Book Review

“Raymond Chandler was one of the finest prose writers of the twentieth century. . . . Age does not wither Chandler’s prose. . . . He wrote like an angel.” —Literary Review

“[T]he prose rises to heights of unselfconscious eloquence, and we realize with a jolt of excitement that we are in the presence of not a mere action tale teller, but a stylist, a writer with a vision.” —Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Review of Books

“Chandler wrote like a slumming angel and invested the sun-blinded streets of Los Angeles with a romantic presence.” —Ross Macdonald

“Raymond Chandler is a star of the first magnitude.” —Erle Stanley Gardner

“Raymond Chandler invented a new way of talking about America, and America has never looked the same to us since.” —Paul Auster

“[Chandler]’s the perfect novelist for our times. He takes us into a different world, a world that’s like ours, but isn’t. ” —Carolyn See

Fun but Confusing

Performance was perfect, it's fun to listen to Chandler's writing and turns of phrase but trying to keep up with all the twists and turns and who is who is almost impossible.

Outstanding

I have become a big fan of these works in Recent years and adds to the enjoyment first experience with the movie.

Philip Marlowe

The big sleep. You got that right and as a classic gumshoe he wants to be better and in the end he was. A true great Noir

My favorite Chandler story

A very good performance. No weaknesses for me. Other Chandler stories can suffer to whatever degree by casual racial stereotypes. This story is perhaps his tightest as to plot and plausibility.

Worth the read

I would describe this as a great beach book. Very intricate plot. Incredibly detailed. Nice character development. Very easy read. Recommend completely.