A collection of eight stories not previously reprinted, because Chandler had re-used much of the material in later novels (for some reason, he felt compelled to abandon material that had been thus "cannibalized") (according to the Introduction). So readers of his novels will notice extremely familiar elements in many of these stories. Now, Chandler is one of those amazing writers who lies in the background of a lot of later fiction - especially detective fiction - in part because of his material and in part because of his style. Very slowly, he writes of one character, his face drained of all expression and became a dead gray mask. Then the man shot himself - rather than kill the two representatives of law and order he'd cornered, when his mission had already gone completely wrong. The Intro notes that Chandler's heroes, flawed though they were, came equipped with a sense of justice that compelled them to help people. That shows strongly in these stories.And then there are the amazing descriptions, and the way he rarely bothered to directly describe how his characters felt. A desperate criminal points a gun at you - what's the point of describing the protagonist's reaction? But also the lyrical and unexpected descriptions of things and people. Robert B. Parker probably dreamed of writing like this guy, until he found his own similar but less high-flown voice. Garrison Keillor's Guy Noir is not, I think, a mockery of this style but a way of reveling in it. It's a joy to read Chandler's work and encounter these clever, sparkling little jewels. Maybe it's not quite the thing, in these postmodern, even more cynical than back then days, but I say: tough. A little poetry won't kill you.
Call this 3.5 stars. The four stories in this collection were all fun stories, noir mysteries through and through. They're not usually my cup of tea, but I had a good time with this collection. Besides the guns, girls, car chases, and murders, they transported me back to the mid 30s, just after repeal, with all the attendant social conditions of living in the Great Depression. It was almost like history.So why the lower grade? Two reasons: despite listening to this less than a month ago, I can't remember the plots of any of the stories. They were always convoluted mysteries, with double-crosses and surprise reveals, but they were also indistinct. The characters--with a few exceptions--were mostly ciphers, just in the story to play a role. And the surprise twists at the ends were usually surprising, but not all that thrilling. Oh, and Elliot Gould's narration wasn't great; his female characters were just embarrassing and his diction wasn't anything to call home about. Perfect accent, though; I could see him as Phillip Marlowe.Chandler's use of language is fantastic, and he's rightly renown for that. I wish everyone had the grasp of rhythm and pace that he did. On the other hand, I have a hard time recommending his stories as stories, rather than language art.
What do You think about Killer In The Rain (2015)?
This is a collection of short stories most of which were later developed into Philip Marlowe novels. As such I strongly recommend reading them after you are done with Philip Marlowe.As an example I will talk about the title story. It is easily recognizable as a base for classic novel The Big Sleep. The main character of the story is a nameless PI (I looked through the story twice to make sure the guy is really nameless). His client is different: Philip Marlowe had a wealthy handicapped General with two daughters while here it was a Serbian immigrant millionaire with a single daughter who was blackmailed. The middle of the story repeats The Big Sleep verbatim at times, but the end is quite different and more violent.My rating of the collection is 4 stars which is mostly due to their influence on Raymond Chandler classic books. The stories are entertaining enough to read if you are a fan of the author, but read all Philip Marlowe novels first before starting on these. This review is a copy/paste of my BookLikes one: http://gene.booklikes.com/post/943786...
—Evgeny
ریموند چندلر یکی از بزرگ‌ترین نویسندگان داستان پلیسی، در طول 77 سال عمرش تنها بیست و سه داستان کوتاه منتشر کرد و در فیلم (غرامت مضاعف) به عنوان فیلم‌نامه نویس با (بیلی وایلر) همکاری کردبسیاری از منتقدین از بین این بیست و سه داستان کوتاه، پانزده داستان او را جزو بهترین‌های او می‌شمارند. هم‌چون داستان کوتاه (قاتل در بارانباری، نام (ریموند چندلر) نامی‌ست وسوسه‌انگیز و وقتی من خواننده کتابی از او را بر پیشخوان کتابفروشی می‌بینم نمی‌توانم از آن بگذرم، اما دریغ که این مجموعه داستان از ضعیف‌ترین داستان‌های او تشکیل شده‌اند و ترجمه‌ای که چنگی به دل نمی‌زند
—Saman Kashi
Even if you aren't a hard-boiled detective kinda reader, every bibliophile should have at least a little Chandler under their belt! I picked this up at a used stall in Sweden, for about a kronor I think (that's about 14 cents, American). Well worth several times that price.This is a collection of several pulp stories from various sources: 'Killer in the Rain,' 'The Man Who Liked Dogs,' 'The Curtain,' 'Try the Girl,' 'Mandarin's Jade,' 'Bay City Blues,' 'The Lady in the Lake,' and 'No Crime in the Mountains' (my personal favourite from this set). There's a very interesting intro to my edition, by Philip Durham of Univ. of California, which details the incestuous evolution of these stories into the bigger and better-known later works from Chandler (e.g., The Big Sleep). However, these are all pre-Marlowe tales, though the character himself is recognisable within even without the handle.Seriously, if you're an ardent reader, get yourself some Chandler, already! This is a splendid place to just jump in and grab a story or two, perhaps to whet one's appetite for more.
—D.M.
