It is said that Chandler himself said that he cannibalised his short stories to write [some of] his novels. With this in mind, and having just recently read all seven of his [completed] novels back-to-back, I thought it'd be interesting to see just what exactly was borrowed/lifted from the short stories, and to what extent.Out of the 25 stories included here, and except for a few character name changes and minor plot thread adjustments to connect the different stories (re-)used, 2 (or 3) stories were, um... blatantly recycled for each of the following Chandler novels: The Big Sleep, Farewell, My Lovely, and The Lady in the Lake. Even the title for this last one was recycled!! The Lady in the Lake is probably my favourite Chandler novel (closely followed by Farewell, My Lovely), so re-reading them - or parts of them - I didn't mind so much at all. But what about the other stories? Well, there's some really good stuff in here, and some things you definitely would not expect from Raymond Chandler. For instance, one story (The Bronze Door) involves a huge magical (bronze) door, and anyone (or anything) that crosses its treshold just... disappears. With its plot and humour, this is the kind of story I'd expect to find in a Mark Twain anthology (for example: The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain - yet another Everyman's Library book), certainly, but we can agree that Chandler and Twain are not exactly in the same market, and that's what makes it a welcome surprise.If you've read the three Chandler novels mentioned above, there's still plenty in here for you. This massive, 1299-page beast is anything but. The stories are so good, the pages practically turn themselves (it seems I could not avoid the oft-recycled cliché). It's a beautiful hardcover from the Everyman's Library series published by Alfred A. Knopf, and at the low price you can get it online from, say, Amazon - well, it's practically a crime NOT to get this book.
Really good read, with some better than others. Red Wind, Nevada Gas, Try The Girl were among the ones i can remember (at least the title) with I'll Be Waiting probably my favourite. A fun mixture of characters too. I'm glad for his novels they all became marlowe, but it was nice to have several options for the shorts. Not completely sure how i feel about his cannibalizing. If i had read the shorts first i probably wouldn't like it, but i knew beforehand novels were cannibalized. It was interesting to see the differences and such, with it being simple to line them up with their corresponding novel.I was a bit overwhelmed by the end of it, i shall like to re-read it all, picking and choosing over a few weeks probably.
What do You think about Collected Stories (Everyman's Library) (2002)?
One and a half stories in and I'm hooked. I've read that the early stories are not up to the later stuff and I suppose they are a bit more linier but the magic of the language and the description of scenes , people and action are very familiar. A thought - I think it's best to read the novels first - some later stories include plot points and scenes cannibalised for use in the novels and I think that might detract from their enjoyment. I haven't come to any of these passages yet but I imagine it won't have the same spoiler effect in a short story ... anyway - I'll see.
—Ross
