I would like to read some works from Raymond Chandler, or at least add him to my TBR list, but I want to know what books I should read first.

Any suggestions?

Oh my gosh what a story. Amazing to me how insightful Chandler was to the human condition. Marlow’s talk with Lennox about becoming sober in i think chapter 2 was very eye opening and hit a little too close to home. And in chp 12, his thoughts on friendship hit another chord with me as it reminded me of my lifelong friends. In a previous novel, i think the little sister, Chandler talks about how difficult being a police officer is on the individual and i was surprised at how that still rings true today. I have one more novel, Playback, to read and then a collection of short stories about Marlowe. Im going to miss him.

Hello all. Just started reading (listening to the audiobooks actually) the Phillip Marlowe books. Currently listening to “the little sister” loving it so far. My question is who do i read after ive exhausted all the marlowe stories? I loved Maltese falcon and was bummed that was the only sam spade novel. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance

EDIT: thank you all so much!!! Very excited to read all of your suggestions.

So far in “the little sister” i laughed my ass off at marlowe’s initial interaction with the toupee character 😂😂😂

Having spent years reading Connelly, Nesbo, Block, MA Collins etc, I finally devoured Chandler’s Marlowe books, partly because I really liked the b&w/acid yellow covers. Love them all, especially TLITL and Playback.

And today I’ve just stumbled across the above volumes, in terrible condition but at least that makes them affordable! Looking forward to reading them… Very gently!

But read it again, it's so much better than I remembered

''It was the week after Thanksgiving when I saw him again. The stores along Hollywood Boulevard were already beginning to fill up with overpriced Christmas junk, and the daily papers were beginning to scream about how terrible it would be if you didn't get your Christmas shopping done early. It would be terrible anyway; it always is'' — Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

I like "The Long Goodbye", it's a good book. but my pocket edition which was printed in Poland with little text on the page, has over 400 pages! I read on Wikipedia that first "Normal" edition, has over 300 pages. In the same time "The Big Sleep" has 280 pages in this small edition.

Bipolar (? - not an expert) and was a sex addict who can have murderous fits.

I know Big Sleep is an old book but what is the general opinion of fans and critics and analysts on what's wrong with this character?

What do you think? Just to expand a little bit on my noir fix

I loved the very minimal but very impactful dialogue. I read this as I was reading The Fountainhead, and I very much appreciated how little the dialogue can be but have the impression of a very stoic but very wise cracking main character in Marlowe.

My favorite out of many was "the kid with the limited vocabulary" ha ha ha!

This baffles me and I reside in the Philippines

I heard that Chandler uses plotlines from them in full-length novels. So, I wonder if the Marlowe's books are identical like them, just in longer versions?

A friend from Argentina asked me for the story, but I can't find it anywhere, could you send it to me so I can share it with him?

Hi guys, I’m an (dare I say, award-winning) playing card artist and today launched a crowdfunding campaign for official Raymond Chandler gritty, noir art playing cards.

I found this group and hoped it would be okay to share.

The cards are perfectly playable, wonderful coffee table pieces. But also hide secrets - the court cards connect into triptychs and all cards puzzle to create a murder to solve. Can you step into the shoes of the private eye?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/prodigal-ent/the-big-deal-raymond-chandler-philip-marlowe-playing-cards

Sorry if this has been asked before. In the little sister novel, we have Mavis Weld. The name and part of the characterization is suggestive of real actress Mae West. Has this connection ever been made or noted? Chandler does mention Mae West in Farewell my Lovely so he was definitely aware of her. I haven't found anything searching online. Thanks in advance.

Hi. I would like to ask about the novel, The Little Sister, by Raymond Chandler. I am quite confused about the siblings Quest family, Leila (Mavis), Orrin and Orfamay. OK, Orfamay is the youngest sister for sure. But Leila and Orrin, who is older than who? I know it’s a trivial question, but this really disturbed me, lol. Thanks in advance.

Where can I buy Collected Stories, on Kindle? It was on Amazon sometime ago, but now it is only in book form.

As reported in the Guardian. Well, not quite. But the fragment "Nightmare," which sold last year for $800, is a fascinating window into the writer's brief and happy time as a surrogate dad to our pal Sybil Davis.