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The Big Sleep

By Raymond Chandler
Series: Penguin Essentials
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is a classic crime thriller set in 1930s Los Angeles. It follows private detective Philip Marlowe as he navigates a tangled web of blackmail, deceit, and murder while working for the enigmatic Sternwood family. The novel is renowned for its sharp dialogue, atmospheric setting, and complex plot, offering a quintessential noir experience.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate classic detective stories featuring hard-boiled, witty private investigators. This novel may appeal to you if you enjoy intricate plots filled with mystery, intrigue, and complex characters set against the backdrop of 1930s Los Angeles.

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Philip Marlowe is hired by wheelchair-bound General Sternwood to discover who is indulging in some petty blackmail. A weary, old man, Sternwood just wants the problem to go away. But Marlowe finds he has his work cut out just keeping Sternwood's wild, devil-may-care daughters out of trouble as they prowl LA's dirtiest and darkest streets.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

The Big Sleep is hard-boiled detective fiction at its best - Raymond Chandler's best-loved novel, published as a Penguin Essential for the first time.

'I was neat, clean, shaved and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars.'

Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is hired by wheelchair-bound General Sternwood to discover who is indulging in some petty blackmail. A weary, old man, Sternwood just wants the problem to go away. But Marlowe finds he has his work cut out just keeping Sternwood's wild, devil-may-care daughters out of trouble as they prowl LA's dirtiest and darkest streets. And pretty soon, he's up to his neck in hoodlums and corpses . . .

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler is highly acclaimed for introducing the quintessential American hero, characterised by cynicism and rebellion. Critics praise Chandler's distinctive style of writing, which has shaped the way America is perceived in literature. His work is lauded for its eloquence and artistic mastery, with Philip Marlowe standing out as the classic urban private eye.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241970775

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 14 August 2014

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Ian Rankin

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 16.0mm

Width: 111.0mm

Height: 180.0mm

Weight: 146g

Pages: 256

Collections

Crime & Thriller Fiction General Fiction Penguin Books Raymond Chandler Series: Penguin Essentials

About the Author

Raymond Thornton Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888, but moved to England with his family when he was twelve, where he attended Dulwich College, alma mater to some of the twentieth century's most renowned writers. Returning to America in 1912, he settled in California, worked in a number of jobs, and later married. It was during the Depression era that he seriously turned his hand to writing, and his first published story appeared in the pulp magazine Black Mask in 1933, followed six years later, when he was fifty, by his first novel, The Big Sleep. Chandler died in 1959, having established himself as the finest crime writer in America.

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