The Lady in the Lake by Raymond ChandlerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I hate people hard, but I don't hate them very long.
This was my July birthday selection for the Dead Writers Society and what an excellent choice it turned out to be. Raymond Chandler was a heavenly wordsmith and I always find myself inspired by his novels. He writes Philip Marlowe with such a laconic style. Not a word wasted, but we feel we know the man despite the complete lack of personal details. Do we know anything about the guy? We meet no family members, no friends, no past history. Yet, we feel he's a somewhat decent man, wanting to collar the correct criminal and know what really went down.
Whether he's describing a hand shake that “feels like a towel rack" or a climb that “a well-nourished mountain goat” could make, Chandler makes me smile. The mystery is there so Chandler allows Marlowe to solve it, but I always get the impression that describing the setting and establishing the atmosphere was more important to him. He seems to have a concern with police conduct, something familiar to twenty first century people. Sadly, some things never change.
The ending of this novel is weak, with Marlowe’s part of small significance, but I can't bring myself to dock a star. The vocabulary, the dialogue, and the writing are just too delicious.
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